Hello! We're here for another Cup game on (hopefully) the long road to Wembley, and we're headed to Premier League Sunderland. On paper we don't have a hope, but I'm cautiously optimistic for this game for a variety of reasons.
It was around this time last year where we'd lost 4-1 at Home to Sunderland and been largely dominated, although a questionable referees performance definitely had a part to play. Since that game we've sacked two managers, had a massive squad exodus and of course been relegated- largely because Sunderland suddenly decided they were Real Madrid. To put it into perspective of how much things have changed for us in roughly a year, our Starting Eleven that day was;
Stockdale (Brighton)
Riether (Freiburg)
Senderos (Villa)
Amorebieta
Riise (APOEL)
Duff (Melbourne)
Parker
Taarabt (QPR)
Dempsey (Seattle)
Berbatov (Monaco)
with the Three Subs we used being;
Dejagah (Al-Arabi)
Kasami (Olympiakos)
Bent (Derby)
However the team we do have now, I believe is more than capable of at the very least doing enough to keep us in the draw for the 5th Round when it comes around.
Of course Bettinelli will continue in goal, he's one of a few in this team that I can see succeeding at Premier League level- and then some. He isn't quite the finished article yet, but given his age thats a non-issue- given the fact we're currently signing up our youngsters to new deals I would hope Bettinelli is close to the top of the list.
Unless there's some injury news I'm not aware of I think we should keep the same Back 4 from the Forest game. Another player I can see making it at Premier League level is Bodurov, he isn't the quickest, tallest or even the best Centre-Back by quite a long way- but what Bodurov is, is one of the smartest Centre-Backs we've ever had. Given the fact he's currently 28- which is quite young for a Centre-Back (at least by our standard) I can see him playing in the Premier League before he finishes. Stafylidis could bizarrely be the difference for us tomorrow. We saw in the First-Half against Forest where Stafylidis found himself in a lot of space and was stretching the Forest defence which in turn created space for some of the other players around him, and with the wider Stadium of Light pitch- if we play like we did First-Half against Forest Stafylidis could turn into a proper threat tomorrow. It'll be interesting to see how Bodurov and Hutchinson handle Jermain Defoe, he looked pretty bad against us when Spurs came to the Cottage last season but he is still undoubtedly a player who can score goals- and we've conceded to a lot worse this season.
Parker is a doubt for this match, and considering how we performed once Parker went off on Wednesday that could cause us some problems if Parker comes out on the wrong side of a Fitness Test on Saturday morning. However, A a Definite Positive- and a player I can definitely see making it at Premier League level is Lasse Vigen Christensen. Christensen is a player who's already been linked with Premier League teams and given another year or two he could be at a Top 4/6 team if his current trajectory is anything to go by. A player who'll definitely benefit from Christensen's return is Fofana, he was quality First-Half against Forest- but there were very few players who weren't and it was because Forest gave us a ridiculous amount of space with which to play, which Sunderland simply won't give us. However, Christensen is a player who creates space for others just with his presence and general play- and its hardly a coincidence that Fofana's best performances have come when Christensen has been on the pitch, or at least in my opinion. The other midfield spot if we're going to be playing the diamond will of course go to Tunnicliffe- and his work rate will be key for us if we're to get anything from the game. The tip of the diamond is interesting for us, Kacaniklic in the #10 Role was top draw against Forest although he wasn't directly involved in any of the goals he most definitely played a part- and his pace combined with his link-up play with McCormack could cause Sunderland a lot of problems.
In the last couple of days we've seen the links for Bryan and Boca Juniors- and while there isn't anything set in stone its a transfer I can definitely see happening, even if I thought he was more likely to go to a La Liga team. However, while he's still at the club we should be using him- and Bryan could add an extra dimension to our attack off the bench.
The Striking options we have are an interesting debate to be had for this game. In retrospect I think I was a bit harsh on Hugo from the Forest game. Yes, he was from his best- but he was able to assist for two goals and his pressure on Hobbs was definitely why it was headed to McCormack for the third. As such I'd have the McCormack-Hugo partnership up front for the game tomorrow, as the little bit of quality such as a one-touch layoff to McCormack from Hugo could be the difference between us being in the 5th Round Draw and not doing so. McCormack along with Christensen is the player I can most see succeeding in the Premier League. When we signed him I was expecting a goalscorer- and not much else, although granted that type of player was someone we lacked for such a longtime, but instead we got someone who can pretty much do everything- and fulfill a number of roles. As such I can see him fitting in to a large majority of Premier League teams, however similar to Christensen I hope we can hang onto him for as long as possible- and given his age I hope we can get the peak years of his career out of McCormack.
Team for Sunderland
Bettinelli
Grimmer, Hutchinson, Bodurov, Stafylidis
Christensen, Fofana, Tunnicliffe
Kacaniklic
Rodallega McCormack
Along with the Villa v Bournemouth game this is one of the games where a Cup upset could definitely be on the cards, although we've been far from amazing as of late- Three Wins on the bounce should by all right mean we're full on confidence, compare this to Sunderland who have won just two from their last ten- and will most likely be fully focused on avoiding Relegation compared to us who given our current place in the League of being 10 Points from the Playoffs and 11 from Relegation we can see the Cup as our main focus.
Thanks for reading as always, as you know if you read these regularly I think we should see the Cup as our main priority- and a Cup Run breeds confidence for the League as evidenced by Wolves but its not like we're in the immediate hunt for the Playoffs so barring a miracle run of wins (which isn't impossible) we'll be comfortably mid-table and provided we don't get some ridiculously hard draw, which we made a habit of in all but last season a few one-off wins is all that stands between us and Wembley- we might as well buy the tickets now.
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