Sunderland writer Phil Smith details 'one change' Le Bris could make vs Coventry amid Romaine Mundle latest

Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris faces a tricky selection decision when his side host Coventry City in their Championship play-off semi-final second leg on Tuesday evening.

After a battling and disciplined display at the CBS Arena on Friday night, and with a one-goal lead to protect on home soil, will the Black Cats stick with the same starting XI that served them so well in the Midlands, or will the Frenchman feel the need to shuffle his pack and alter his plans?

In particular, it remains to be seen what - if any - role Romaine Mundle will play, with the winger likely to make a return to the match day squad, while teenage sensation Chris Rigg could also be in contention having dropped to the bench for the first leg.

But how will Sunderland line up, and what changes can supporters expect to see at a packed-out Stadium of Light?

What changes will Regis Le Bris make for Sunderland’s second leg clash with Coventry City?

Speaking on the latest edition of On The Whistle, The Echo’s chief SAFC writer, Phil Smith, said: “So my thoughts are, personally, I have to say I'd be really surprised if Romaine Mundle starts on Tuesday night. Obviously he has been training over the last week or so, but from what I understand, I think he's slightly behind Aji Alese in terms of when he returned to actual full training. So I think it would be a big ask for him, especially with a hamstring injury, to go straight into the starting XI. I would be surprised if Le Bris took that level of risk.

“I know he put [Dan] Ballard in last night [on Friday], but Ballard did have half an hour under his belt in that QPR game and he had been in full training for about a week and a half before that. So I think it's a really different scenario.

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“I'd be really surprised if Sunderland put Mundle in from the start. I think he'll be on the bench, but I think he'll be used in the latter stages of the game if Sunderland need him. And if not, it'll be all focus if - fingers crossed, touch wood - Sunderland are able to get to Wembley. I think that's when you would see Mundle play a much bigger part. So I do think he might well have a role to play on Tuesday night, but I'd be really surprised if he came straight back into the starting XI, just because, as I say, from what I understand, he's slightly behind Aji Alese in terms of when he returned to full training over the last week, so he hasn't had that much time really to get himself ready to start the game.

“And I think the bigger question is whether Rigg comes back in for one of the strikers and you go to a more traditional 4-3-3. I think that's the one change that I think Le Bris will be weighing up, but I'm not sure at this stage whether they'll actually make it.”

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