JUST IN; Why Mike Dodds must axe 20-year-old ‘huge asset’ from his Sunderland starting XI v QPR.
Sunderland host QPR in the Championship on Saturday afternoon, in what’s become a crucial game for the Black Cats.
Sunderland have now lost their last six games; the first time the Black Cats have lost six in a row since 2006.
MIKE DODDS. finds his side in 12th place of the Championship table and the gap to the bottom three now stands at just nine points.
The bottom half of the Championship table has become extremely tight and a seventh-straight defeat for Sunderland this weekend would really land them in trouble, with less than 10 games of the season remaining now.
So at the Stadium of Light this weekend, expect some changes.
Abdoullah Ba needs to be axed from Sunderland XI vs QPR
Against Southampton, Sunderland were once again lacklustre.
The first half was another shambles, both defensively and in attack; poor defending led to the first goal and Chris Rigg gave away a needless penalty for the second, which ultimately sealed Sunderland’s fate that day .And although the scoreline at 2-2 looked good on Sunderland, it certainly flattered them, with Romaine Mundle’s goal taking a big deflection and Jobe Bellingham just producing a moment of magic for the second.
When Southampton stepped back up a gear, Sunderland stood no chance.
And it was another game where Abdoullah Ba was nowhere to be seen; as per score, he made 12 accurate passes on the day, winning just 2 out of 14 duels, with 0 shots on target and 0 out of 5 dribbles completed.
The Frenchman, described by Michael Beale as a ‘huge asset’ for Sunderland, started on the left of an attacking midfield three, though Dodds may well need to amend that against QPR.
Dodds had chopped and changed the XI and the shape since he’s come in.
But nothing seems to be making any difference; though with Sunderland still on the slide and showing no real signs of improving, more changes look inevitable this weekend.
Sunderland certainly need more bite in attack but injuries are limiting what Dodds can do, and with no Jack Clarke, Sunderland simply look weak.
Rigg looked a bit lost in the no.10 role against Southampton and so he could be better-utilized on the flank, or Callum Styles could be given a chance to start in a left wing position and show what he can do.
That would open up a gap behind the striker for Jobe Bellingham to come further up the pitch, then allowing for Pierre Ekwah to come back into the XI alongside Dan Neil.
It would be a more familiar XI and whilst it may not have worked at times this season, against a lowly QPR side, having a more familiar and grounded Sunderland XI could be what it takes to grind out a win.
Ba just isn’t offering anything to the team at the minute, whereas Rigg when he started on the wing against Leicester City earlier in the month, showed a lot of positivity with his runs and forward-thinking.
And dropping Ba could be the motivation he needs to rediscover some form ahead of what is now a crucial run-in for Sunderland. Sunderland host QPR in a 3pm kick off on Saturday.
