Sunderland travel to Rotherham United on Friday night looking to build on their crucial win against Hull City on Boxing Day.
Rotherham sit bottom of the table but have a decent home record, with Michael Beale warning his side they have to show better levels of consistency in the second half of the season. His key dilemma ahead of the game is how much he rests and rotates within his starting XI amid a hugely challenging festive schedule, and with the FA Cup clash against Newcastle United now just over a week away.
He also had to decide at which stage he tries to begin reintegrating the young strikers who’ve struggled for minutes of late. With that in mind, here’s our predicted starting XI for the clash with Rotherham at the New York Stadium...
5. LB: TRAI HUME
Aji Alese and Dennis Cirkin's imminent return from injury will give Beale the option to shift Hume back across to right back, but neither are likely to come straight back into the starting XI so soon. Photo: FRANK REID
6. CM: DAN NEIL
Neil was in typically excellent form at Hull City, continuing his very impressive campaign. He may need a break at some point but in truth, Beale doesn't really seem to have the options to do so just yet, unless he drops one of his attacking midfielders into a deeper role. Photo: FRANK REID
7. CM: PIERRE EKWAH
Ekwah looked back to his best against Hull City and surely did enough to keep his place in the side against Rotherham. Photo: FRANK REID
8. CAM: ADIL AOUCHICHE
Jobe Bellingham was excellent against Hull City but his performance was built on a huge physical output, having played 90 minutes against Coventry City just days previous. With two huge fixtures looming in the New Year, might this be an opportunity to give him a rest? Aouchiche earned praise from Beale for his application against Hull having replaced the injured Bradley Dack, and so this could be a good chance to bring him back into the XI. Photo: FRANK REID