Sunderland round-up: Team and injury news ahead of Manchester United clash plus praise for on-loan defender
Sunderland news round-up ahead of this weekend's trip to Old Trafford to face Manchester United.
Sunderland are preparing to take on Manchester United this weekend in their first visit to Old Trafford since Boxing Day 2016.
A fair bit has changed for both clubs since that meeting, with the Black Cats going all the way down to League One before eventually climbing back into the Premier League, while the Red Devils’ struggles have gotten worse amid a complete lack of direction. The form of the two sides at the start of this season highlights the difference in mood, with Sunderland sitting fifth after picking up 11 points from their first six games, while United’s 3-1 defeat to Brentford last week leaves them 14th.
There’s plenty at stake on Saturday and the pre-match chatter is starting to build.
Sunderland team news vs Man Utd: Nordi Mukiele update
There had been fears this week that Nordi Mukiele would be unavailable for the trip to Old Trafford, but Black Cats boss Regis Le Bris has put those rumours to bed, confirming there are no new injury concerns in his squad following last week’s 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest.
“Nordi is fine, he’s OK,” Le Bris said at his Thursday press conference. “We have no new injuries. With Romaine and Dennis, there is no definite date for their return to play. We think it will probably be a month, maybe a month and a half. With Leo and Aji it is similar. Leo is back running, with Aji there was a very small injury so he took a little step back. Probably one month for each.”
Despite the disparity in form between the two sides, Le Bris insists Sunderland will need to raise their levels against Man Utd and cannot afford to underestimate their wounded opponents.
“Being at Old Trafford demands strong personality and strong character,” he said. “I still believe that we'll need to upgrade our performance to be competitive in Manchester. They are strong, create many chances from everywhere, direct play in behind, set pieces, with talented players. Now it’s just a question of click, confidence, circumstances, scenario. So for us the only thing we can control is our way of playing, the way we want to play this game, to face this challenge, being aware that it will be tough.”
Ollie Bainbridge impressing in South Shields loan
Sunderland loaned out plenty of players this summer for various reasons, including young left-back Ollie Bainbridge. The 20-year-old already had senior experience under his belt with Kilmarnock during the first half of last season and is now on loan at National League North side South Shields until at least January.
At that point, Bainbridge will enter the final six months of his deal, but his early form with the Mariners has offered hope he could be rewarded with an extension.
Speaking after Saturday’s FA Cup win against Chorley, South Shields manager Ian Watson said: “Ollie is a talent. I went to watch him play for Sunderland against Burnley in an Under-21s game and I knew after about five minutes we needed to get him in. We’ve got incredible full-backs at the club at the minute but I knew there was a chance we were going to burn them out a little bit. He has come in, he just does everything perfectly and he wants to learn, he wants to get better, he wants to improve every single part of his game and he has that desire. He’s been incredible for us and I have no doubt he can just continue getting better throughout his time with the club.”
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Le Bris heaps praise on ‘really positive’ Omar Alderete
Omar Alderete was the hero for Sunderland against Nottingham Forest last weekend, heading home a Xhaka free-kick for the only goal of the game in the 38th minute. The Paraguayan was also in fine defensive form that afternoon to help Sunderland keep a clean sheet, and Le Bris has taken time to praise the positive effect he’s had on the squad so far since arriving from Getafe in the summer.
"He is a strong defender," Le Bris said of Alderete. "He's really calm, confident. We have different personalities in the squad and the balance is really positive. The balance in the backline as well is really positive."
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