Predicted Sunderland Line-up To Face Bolton In The EFL Championship
The “we’ve got Simon Grayson” chant of August time is sung slightly less around Wearside on match days at the moment, with a 2-1 home loss against Bristol City doing nothing to show any appreciable improvement coming from the Black Cats.
Sunderland sit 23rd in the Championship with 9 points from 14 games and are in very real danger of playing League One football next season. All joking and ribbing a side, such a fan base arguably deserves a much better side than this and the consternation among supporters is very real and rightly so.
Grayson remains in charge for now and is likely to play in his 4-2-3-1 formation once again for the game against Bolton, the only side below them in the league. Anything less than a win against the “worst” side in the division featuring three Geordies, one of whom played for Sunderland, on their home ground, would be seen as a football disaster. This is their lowest point in many, many years.
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Manager: Simon Grayson
GK – Jason Steele
No clean sheets this season in the league for a ‘keeper who, although not a superstar, is probably better than this.
RB – Billy Jones
Still willing to bomb forward from his right-back position, Jones should keep his head up and not give up his positive style.
CB – Lamine Kone
May very well leave in January to create some much needed revenue. Does anyone care?
CB – John O’Shea
Oh for the days of Champions League football and Premier League titles. For now, O’She still possesses quality and every bit of it is needed now.
LB – Bryan Oviedo
Another player who has played at a much higher level in decent Everton sides, but this is perhaps exactly why Sunderland are what they are. In other words, taking up players who are on the way down from more successful clubs. Defoe was a rare exception.
CM – Didier Ndong
Another player who could be for the chop in winter, but mostly because he can demand some sort of a fee.
CM – Darron Gibson
His attitude may be alright, but the simple fact is that Everton took up a player who was not considered good enough for Man United. He was then taken up by Sunderland after Gibson was deemed not good enough for Everton.
RW – Duncan Watmore
It’s good to see academy graduates getting game time. We can only hope though that he doesn’t end up slipping down the leagues.
CAM – Jonathan Williams
May well be in support of Lewis Grabban again, who at least looks in some sort of form.
LW – Aiden McGeady
Did very well for Simon Grayson last season, but that was in a decent Preston side who have gone from strength to strength.
ST – Lewis Grabban
The ex-Bournemouth man is in scoring form and could well be the key man in this fixture. If Bolton keep him quiet, it could be game over.