Regis Le Bris could shock Sunderland fans at 2pm today by naming 10-touch ace in his XI for Swansea
On Saturday afternoon, Sunderland will travel to Wales, where Regis Le Bris will win his first game as Black Cats manager.
Sunderland defeated Cardiff City 2-0 on the road to begin the 2024–25 campaign. After what appeared to be a pretty
uneventful preseason, it was the ideal beginning to Regis Le Bris’ time at the club.
The Black Cats’ performance has declined since. They are currently in fourth place in the Championship league, five
points behind leaders Sheffield United, having only won one of their previous eight games.
The Black Cats were frustrated in the middle of the week. In a match at the Stadium of Light, Sunderland scored late to tie 1-1 with Bristol City, and things won’t get any easier when they go to Swansea City on Saturday afternoon.
The Swans are in ninth place in the standings and have gone four games without losing. Le Bris has a headache in
attack with Romaine Mundle still out, and to make matters worse, Sunderland star Tommy Watson has been injured
and will be out for the next two months.
Regis Le Bris must consider shock start for Adil Aouchiche vs Swansea City
Even though Adil Aouchiche has only made three appearances as a substitute in the Championship this season, he
has been a talking topic at Sunderland.
But on his final appearance, the 22-year-old was brilliant. Aouchiche came off the bench to set up Patrick Roberts for
the late equaliser against Bristol City, and Sunderland supporters praised his performance.
Aouchiche is reportedly poised to be sold by Sunderland in January. However, before deciding on the midfielder’s
future, Le Bris may want to give him one last chance.
Throwing Aouchiche in for a surprise start and a genuine opportunity to make an impression could prove to be a
brilliant move, as Watson and Mundle are both injured and there isn’t a clear choice to take their places on the left
side of the attack.
In a 10-minute cameo against Bristol City, Aouchiche touched the ball ten times, completed five of six passes with
85% accuracy, made one crucial pass, and scored a shot on goal.
Mike Dodds might contribute to Sunderland’s Adil Aouchiche comeback.
Aouchiche joined the team for the first time last season. In his 28 Championship appearances, he had clear signs of a
player with promise, tallying two goals and two assists without particularly impressing anyone.
However, Aouchiche impressed Mike Dodds. “When Adil came on, I thought he was excellent,” Dodds stated
following Aouchiche’s impressive performance for Sunderland against Leicester City in March.
“We’ve got Adil in a good spot in terms of his concentration, and I said to him after the game, ‘You’ve got to stay on
this path now – you can’t come away from the direction you’re going’.
“I was really happy with Adil and the impact that he made coming off the bench.”
Having had the learning curve of last season, and having impressed off the bench last time out, Aouchiche might now
be ready to be reintroduced to the XI.
For Le Bris, there’s few other options and arguably little to lose. With Aouchiche facing an uncertain January as well,
Le Bris will surely want to see Aouchiche in a game from the off – it could easily unearth another hidden gem for the club.
Read more news on https://sportupdates.co.uk/
Leave a Reply