Sunderland's best and worst players this season - according to the stats experts

Sunderland will hope to boost their hopes of claiming a long-awaited promotion into the Premier League when they return to action with a home clash against Millwall next weekend.

As it stands, automatic promotion now appears to be increasingly out of reach as recent defeats against the likes of Hull City and Coventry City have left Regis Le Bris’ side sat 11 points adrift of current leaders Leeds United and second placed Sheffield United. However, the opportunity of securing promotion via the play-offs remains very much alive and it seems a top six spot remains very much within reach for the Black Cats as the final weeks of the season rapidly approach.

The home game with Millwall appears to have taken on increased importance following last weekend’s defeat at fellow play-off contenders Coventry and a win could well be essential given Le Bris and his players face a tough looking away double-header against West Bromwich Albion and Norwich City within the first ten days of April.

The former Lorient head coach will hope several of his players can come to the fore over the coming weeks after the likes of Trai Hume, Dennis Cirkin and Jobe Bellingham have impressed throughout the season to help Sunderland into contention for promotion into the Premier League - but who have been the highest and lowest rated players in the Sunderland squad this season? We take a look with average ratings provided by the stats experts at WhoScored and it would be safe to say there are some eye-catching results.

Who are Sunderland’s 10 highest-rated players so far this season?

10. Eliezer Mayenda (30 apps - 6.72 av rating) 9. Dan Neil (37 apps - 6.79 av rating) 8. Luke O’Nien (37 apps - 6.80 av rating) 7. Chris Mepham (30 apps - 6.89 av rating) 6. Patrick Roberts (37 apps - 6.94 av rating) 5. Dennis Cirkin (34 apps - 6.95 av rating) 4. Jobe Bellingham (34 apps - 7.00 av rating) 3. Romaine Mundle (20 apps - 7.03 av rating) 2. Trai Hume (37 apps - 7.17 av rating) 1. Enzo Le Fee (8 apps - 7.21 av rating)

Who are Sunderland’s 10 lowest-rated players so far this season?

10. Wilson Isidor (35 apps - 6.71 av rating) 9. Chris Rigg (34 apps - 6.65 av rating) 8. Tommy Watson (13 apps - 6.64 av rating) 7. Anthony Patterson (34 apps - 6.58 av rating) 6. Dan Ballard (19 apps - 6.58 av rating) 5. Aji Alese (12 apps - 6.49 av rating) 4. Alan Browne (15 apps - 6.48 av rating) 3. Leo Hjelde (10 apps - 6.25 av rating) 2. Ian Poveda (6 apps - 6.08 av rating) 1. Salis Abdul Samed (37 apps - 6.04 av rating)

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