Will Aiden McGeady be risked? How can Sunderland get the best out of Ross Stewart? Lee Johnson's selection dilemmas for Gillingham test

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The Black Cats have dropped to fourth in the table, albeit with games in hand, after last week’s meeting with Oxford was postponed due to international call-ups.

Ahead of the trip to Priestfield, we take a closer look at some of the dilemmas Johnson will face.

Will Aiden McGeady be risked?

After missing the Portsmouth game with an ankle injury, McGeady will be keen to return to action this weekend.

The 35-year-old winger has been keen to stress that he can still play two games in a week, and had started nine consecutive league matches before the trip to Fratton Park.

McGeady has returned to training but was being monitored as Sunderland head into a busy run of fixtures.

The game against Gillingham is the first of nine scheduled games in 29 days – including league and cup fixtures – so Johnson won’t want to take too many chances.

But with Lynden Gooch unlikely to feature after having an injection for a foot problem, and Leon Dajaku being assessed, Sunderland’s options in wide areas could be limited.

Getting the supply for Ross Stewart

Sunderland’s frontman has been in excellent form this season and has already scored seven times in 10 league appearances.

Stewart has exceeded his expected goals total of 5.51 (an average of 0.52 per game) in those games, which shows he is taking the majority of his chances.

Yet against Portsmouth, albeit in awful weather conditions, Sunderland’s frontman struggled to get in the game.

The Black Cats may have to get used to teams pressing them higher up the pitch and trying to prevent them building attacks from the back.

Johnson will also look to find the right balance of attacking players to give Stewart the support he needs.

With doubts over Gooch and Dajaku, as well as McGeady’s recent setback, it’s likely Alex Pritchard will receive another opportunity against Gillingham.

The 28-year-old clearly has plenty of ability but has been playing catch up after missing most of pre-season when he tested positive for Covid-19.

If Pritchard does start in his preferred No 10 position, it may mean Elliot Embleton is dropped back into a deeper midfield role or used out wide.

That hasn’t appeared to suit Embleton in previous matches this campaign so it’ll be interesting to see what combination Johnson chooses.

Will Sunderland’s back four be restored?

During the first few weeks of the season, Tom Flanagan and Callum Doyle formed an effective centre-back partnership, while Dennis Cirkin and Carl Winchester have impressed at full-back.

The Doyle-Flanagan partnership was broken up when the Manchester City loanee suffered a back issue against Cheltenham and subsequently missed the trip to Portsmouth.

Doyle, Cirkin, Winchester and Flanagan have all been away on international duty but will be expected to start if fit.

If either centre-back is unavailable, West Ham loanee Frederik Alves looked steady at Lincoln last week while Bailey Wright has returned after travelling with Australia during the break.

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