How the day unfolded as Dan Neil and Nathan Broadhead goals hand Sunderland 2-1 win over Plymouth Argyle

Are there tickets available?

There are tickets available for Sunderland’s clash with Plymouth with the Stadium of Light ticket office open on matchday and on Friday December 10.

How can I follow the game?

If you are not in attendance at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, BBC Radio Newcastle will have full coverage of the game.

Alternatively, the Sunderland Echo will also bring you full coverage, including pre-match and post-match reaction to all the major talking points from the encounter.

What’s the latest team news?

Frederik Alves and Will Harris joined Sunderland’s growing injury-list last week and there doesn’t seem to be a sign that a host of players will be back available for selection.

Johnson will hope that his side can continue the momentum from Tuesday night’s victory into the weekend against a new-look Plymouth side.

As mentioned, Saturday will be just Steven Schumacher’s second game in charge of the Pilgrims as he tries to implement his style of football and ideas onto his new squad.

What’s the latest betting odds?

All odds courtesy of SkyBet:

Sunderland win: 10/11

Draw: 5/2

Plymouth Argyle win: 11/4

All odds are correct at the time of writing. Over 18s only. Please gamble responsibly and Be Gamble Aware. www.begambleaware.org.

Lee Johnson has confirmed that Niall Huggins will be out for a further six weeks.

The talented and versatile full-back withdrew from Wales U21 duty in October with a back complaint with scans revealing that Huggins had suffered the onset of a stress fracture.

Johnson had expected the former Leeds United youngster to be out for a minimum of three months but that timeframe has been extended.

Huggins has made a major impression in his four senior appearances since signing earlier this summer, and was particularly impressive in the 5-0 league win over Cheltenham Town.

“In terms of Niall Huggins, he’s going to be an extra six weeks. A bit of a setback there,” Johnson explained. “It is disappointing. It just hasn’t fused as well as we would have liked it to. Therefore it is another six weeks.

“Bless him. He has been coming to all of the games and he’s watching all the post-match reviews.

“We love him and we love him about the place but we feel sorry for him but at the same time, he has a long career ahead of him.

“We need to make sure he is right as rain to play for the next 15 years, not just the next 15 days.

“Originally it was a three-month injury but it’s plus another six weeks now, which is frustrating.”

Johnson, though, was more positive regarding Luke O’Nien, who went under the knife earlier this week to repair a shoulder injury.

“It [the surgery] went well. We have managed to speak to the surgeon and he did have a tear as we know but it was a substantial tear.

“But at the same time, he is very confident and happy that he has repaired it well. The process now is six weeks in the sling and then six weeks in rehab without being able to step foot on the grass.

“Then it is at the head physio’s discretion really in terms of how hard he pushes it and how early that contact comes to build up the confidence levels and the strength of that joint.”

“If he comes back in 13 weeks, he’s done extremely well.”

O’Nien has been deployed in a number of positions during his time at the club.

And the 27-year-old is also seen as part of Sunderland’s leadership group, a quality his head coach is keen to see O’Nien develop.

“You always miss a player like Luke O’Nien,” Johnson admitted. “He is infectious. Which is sometimes good and sometimes bad. But mainly good.

“He buzzes about the place and he lifts the spirits of people. That’s why we have got him in the squad and that’s why we went the whole nine yards to keep him [in the summer] because of his versatility and his personality.

“We want him to drive the standards and lead by example in the extras that he does and the professionalism that he brings and that will have to be the same now, he can still add a lot even though he’s not going to set foot on the hallowed turf.

“He has got to really hone in on the leadership qualities and potentially we can help him become a better leader than he already is.”

Willis suffered a ruptured patella tendon at Shrewsbury Town in February of this year, which had initially been expected to sideline him for six months.

But a second rupture during surgery came as a major setback, all but ruling out his chances of playing again this season.

Willis, however, has been handed a new role behind the scenes at Sunderland as the defender recovers at the Academy of Light.

“Jordan has been tasked with the opposition analysis. For the Papa John’s games, Jordan was both analysing the opposition but also delivering full stop meetings.

“That’s basically just the post-match review and that went well. I think he enjoyed that and I think he appreciated how difficult it was as well.

“To be able to work with all of the technology is a lot of work. We do 40 hours of analysis that we have to condense into a six-minute video after a training session.”

Asked if Willis will continue to help Sunderland with their analysis of opposition teams before games, Johnson said: “Yeah. I think he enjoys it. He has enjoyed delivering it back to the players, and looking at strengths and weaknesses.

“I think his next step is to learn the technology as it’s not easy and there’s a lot of detail that goes into that and it takes a lot of time to illuminate a performance.”

And we’re underway at the Stadium of Light. Plymouth having an early spell of possession.

Sunderland attack down the right through Leon Dajaku and there’s a big shout for a penalty but it is waved away by the referee

Sunderland win a corner. GOOOOOAAAAALL!!!!!!

Sunderland back on the attack. They’re hammering Plymouth at the moment. Dajaku looks very bright down the right side. Plymouth look shaken early on here.