Lee Johnson outlines how he'll approach his Sunderland selection at Blackpool

Alves will start alongside Bailey Wright as Lee Johnson rotates his Sunderland XI.

Johnson has nevertheless hinted that he will not make as many changes as he did for the first round win over Port Vale.

The Sunderland head coach made eight changes for that game, as his side survived heavy pressure to secure a narrow 2-1 win at Vale Park.

Tuesday night's second round game sees a step up in opposition as Sunderland travel to Championship side Blackpool, and Johnson is likely to tailor his selection accordingly.

There will be opportunities for new signings, however, with Everton loanee Nathan Broadhead expected to benefit from more minutes alongside Alves, who has been in the last two matchday squads but is yet to make his debut.

"There was good parts to our play at Port Vale but there were some parts that were short in my opinion," Johnson said.

"I want to progress, I want to win the game.

"I'm going to try and find the balance between blooding a few new players, a few young players as well, but also having that strong spine that we need to go and be competitive in the game.

"Bailey will start as well as Frederik and it will be nice to see how that partnership works."

Blackpool have taken two points from their first four Championship games, and battled back impressively from 2-0 down to take a point away at Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon.

A message from the Football Clubs Editor

Our aim is to provide you with the best, most up-to-date and most informative Sunderland AFC coverage 365 days a year.

This depth of coverage costs, so to help us maintain the high-quality reporting that you are used to, please consider taking out a subscription to our new sports-only package here.

Your support is much appreciated. Richard Mennear, Football Clubs Editor