Régis Le Bris makes massive Sunderland striker call with three changes for Preston North End clash

Wilson Isidor and Eliezer Mayenda will reprise their striking partnership on Tuesday night as Régis Le Bris makes three changes to his Sunderland XI.

Isidor has come in for Alan Browne, with Le Bris switching to a 4-4-2 system for the game. Tommy Watson makes his first start since returning from injury, with Romaine Mundle dropping to the bench. Dennis Cirkin returns to the starting XI in place for Leo Hjelde.

Jobe Bellingham starts with Sunderland hoping that he can avoid a yellow card in the final game before the second amnesty of the season. Bellingham will incur a one-game ban if he picks up a yellow against Preston North End.

“He has managed the situation very well so far,” Le Bris said.

“We’ll see tomorrow but it’s part of the situation you have to manage over a season. It’s not a major focus for us.”

Preston North End have had mixed news on the injury front, with influential striker Milutin Osmajic again missing with a hip problem. Brentford loanee Jayden Meghoma is fit to return at left back, while Mads Frokjaer returns to the bench.

Sunderland XI: Patterson; Hume, Mepham, O’Nien, Cirkin; Neil, Jobe, Roberts, Watson; Mayenda, Isidor

Subs: Moore, Aleksic, Rigg, Hjelde, Seelt, Jones, Anderson, Browne, Mundle

The latest on Sunderland’s injury absentees

Ian Poveda, Salis Abdul Samed, Enzo Le Fee, Dan Ballard and Ahmed Abdhullahi all remain sidelined with injury as things stand.

Here’s what Le Bris has said over the last week or so about how they’re all progressing: “We will have to wait for Ian.

"I don't know exactly what the timeframe will be for his return to play but it might be three to four weeks. It's frustrating because we know he is talented as a winger, he has the ability to dribble and create something from nothing in short spaces. So far he wasn't available for many reasons.

"So far, they are on track in their recovery, Enzo should probably be available after the international break more or less, with Dan it will be a little bit longer.

“Ahmed struggled with this injury. The injury is solved now but there have been some ups and downs with the pain. The surgery was fine, successful, but sometimes there was a reaction to the load of the training sessions. So he just he needs time. He is not yet ready to train with us, he just needs time. I would like a third striker for sure, but we will wait. With Jayden [Danns], there is no update at the moment.”

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