Sunderland are looking to make it back-to-back home wins when Portsmouth visit the Stadium of Light on Sunday afternoon.
After a change in formation yielded an excellent result against Sheffield United, Régis Le Bris has some big selection decisions to make. Here’s how we think he’ll go, both with his starting XI and his bench...
1. GK - Anthony Patterson
Solid performance across the two legs of the semi finals and will play here. Will hope he can repeat his clean sheet from the League One play-off final, where he made one vital save from Sam Vokes. | Frank Reid
2. RB - Trai Hume
Recently named Sunderland's player of the season, Hume is one of the first names on the teamsheet and has a crucial role to play. | Frank Reid
3. CB - Dan Ballard
It was a bold call to bring Ballard back for the semi finals but his dominant display meant that Le Bris was completely vindicated. No doubt he'll keep his place for this one. | Stu Forster/Getty Images Photo: Stu Forster/Getty Images
4. CB - Luke O'Nien
O'Nien's leadership and quality on the ball from deep areas mean he is a must pick. Dan Ballard rightly took the headlines after the semi finals but O'Nien was excellent in both games. | Frank Reid