Who would make Sunderland’s strongest starting XI based on minutes played in the Championship this season?

Sunderland will focus on their final push for promotion over the final five games of the season after securing their play-off spot with a draw against Norwich City on Tuesday night.

The Black Cats battled their way to a goalless draw at Carrow Road and that was enough to see them over the line and claim one of the four Championship play-off places. One of Leeds United, Burnley and Sheffield United will secure another spot as their title and automatic promotion race looks set to go to the final day of the season - but the other two places appear to be up for grabs with several contenders sat either side of the dotted line.

As it stands, as many as six clubs will feel they have a chance to land a top six spot with the final games of the season rapidly approaching with Bristol City and Middlesbrough currently sat in fifth and sixth place and Coventry City, West Bromwich Albion, Millwall and Watford all sat within striking distance. That allows Sunderland to watch on as they wait to discover who their play-off semi-final opponents will be next month and they could have a say in it themselves as they prepare to visit Bristol City on Good Friday.

Does that mean Regis Le Bris can experiment with his squad or does he remain true to the players that have led his side into the top six and surpassed expectations this season? The Black Cats boss delivered a major hint over what could lie ahead during the final games of the season in his post-match interview following the draw at Carrow Road.

He said: "We earned this opportunity and now it's important to manage the squad properly, to give some minutes to the youngest players so they can learn from experiences, and for the others who have played many games so far, it will be an opportunity to find the right balance, to be in good shape and refresh when necessary. In the first half we were too reserved, but after 30 minutes it was a little bit better, and during half time we spoke about the boldness we had to have, away against a strong team, and it was better in the second half."

So who would start in Sunderland’s strongest eleven if it was based on minutes played during the Championship season? We take a look with statistics provided by WhoScored.

Sunderland’s strongest XI based on minutes played this season

A talented Sunderland duo are attracting interest from an ambitious Premier League side. | Getty Images

GK: Anthony Patterson - 3,330 minutes RB: Trai Hume - 3,533 CB: Luke O’Nien - 3,485 minutes CB: Chris Mepham - 2,972 minutes LB: Dennis Cirkin - 2,632 minutes CM: Dan Neil - 3,562 minutes CM: Jobe Bellingham - 3,208 minutes CM: Chris Rigg - 2,761 minutes RW: Patrick Roberts - 2,857 minutes LW: Romaine Mundle - 1,442 minutes ST: Wilson Isidor - 2,807 minutes

How many minutes have other Sunderland stars played this season?

Eliezer Mayenda - 1,929 minutes Dan Ballard - 1,093 minutes Alan Browne - 1,009 minutes Enzo Le Fee - 715 minutes Aji Alese - 701 minutes Tom Watson - 611 minutes Simon Moore - 360 minutes Adil Aouchiche* - 293 minutes Leo Hjelde - 250 minutes Aaron Connolly* - 241 minutes Milan Aleksic - 209 minutes Jack Clarke* - 180 minutes Salis Abdul Samed - 160 minutes Ian Poveda - 81 minutes Nazariy Rusyn* - 66 minutes Jenson Seelt - 21 minutes Harrison Jones - 9 minutes Nectarios Triantis* - 1 minute