Sunderland first-team players set to feature for U21s side against Huddersfield - with Aji Alese plan

A mixture of first-team and youth players are set to feature as Sunderland’s under-21s side face Huddersfield in a Central League fixture on Wednesday.

The Central League allows development sides the opportunity to complete extra fixtures, alongside Premier League 2 and the Premier League Cup. Sunderland’s under-21s team beat Lincoln City 4-3 in the competition last week following a brace from Tom Watson, as well as goals from Ben Middlemas and Jaydon Jones.

Aji Alese is set to play the match against Huddersfield, after the defender wasn’t named in the senior squad to face Blackburn on Monday. The 23-year-old hasn’t played for Sunderland’s first team since January due to an injury and is being managed back carefully.

"I had a good conversation with Aji in terms of where he's at," said Sunderland’s interim head coach Dodds after the Blackburn game. "He's going to play for the under-21s on Wednesday so there's no issue in terms of his training or being fit. We just felt a 90 minutes on Wednesday would be perfect for him and then he'll be back in contention for Saturday."

The Central League match against Huddersfield is set to take place at 1pm on Wednesday, with Sunderland’s website stating ‘a mixture of U21 and first team players’ are set to be involved for Graeme Murty's side.

Sunderland’s first team are preparing for Saturday’s Championship match against Bristol City at the Stadium of Light.