Regis Le Bris shares triple fitness update ahead of Sunderland clash vs West Ham
Sunderland are just days away from their first Premier League match in eight years as they prepare to take on West Ham.
The Wearsiders will be itching to get themselves up and running in their top-flight return, and they have been handed the perfect opportunity to open their campaign with three points at the Stadium of Light against one of last season’s strugglers.
Sunderland will be up against it in the Premier League, as the division is now a completely different proposition to the one that they last faced way back in 2016/17.
Regardless of the result on Saturday, it will be a hugely proud moment for the Black Cats, as they finally complete a lengthy fight back to the top tier that began in the depths of League One several years ago.
Le Bris to face late decisions on Guiu, Alderete and Masuaku
Mackems boss Regis Le Bris will already have an idea of his first starting lineup in his head, but it’s likely to be influenced somewhat by the injury concerns that have carried over from pre-season.
Several Black Cats stars have been forced to spend time on the sidelines during the summer preparations, and there are areas of the squad that could be stretched quite thinly on the opening day, despite the 11 new faces that have arrived so far this summer.
Of the new arrivals, there are three in particular who are doubts for the clash with West Ham, as Le Bris faces late decisions on the trio of Marc Guiu, Omar Alderete and Arthur Masuaku.
- Guiu has joined from Chelsea on a season-long loan deal
- Alderete arrived from Getafe for a fee of around £10million
- Masuaku joined as a free agent, and could be in line to face his former side on the opening day
“I think with Marc, Arthur and Omar we are going to have the opportunity to select them,” the Frenchman said at his pre-match press conference.
“I think it might be a little bit tough to start because of their fitness levels and because they have not had much time with their teammates.
“So it might be a little bit early for them to start, but that is a decision we will make on Friday morning.”
Sunderland have a huge opportunity in their first five games
Sunderland have been backed to beat West Ham at the weekend, and it is no exaggeration to say that their opening game could immediately be one of their most crucial across the entire campaign.
The Black Cats could ultimately live or die by the start they make, and they couldn’t have really asked for a kinder opening assignment than a home game against a side that limped to 14th last term.
| Date | Opponent | H/A |
| 16 August | West Ham | H |
| 23 August | Burnley | A |
| 30 August | Brentford | H |
| 13 September | Crystal Palace | A |
| 21 September | Aston Villa | H |
The fixture list has been kind to Le Bris and his team, and has delivered some very winnable games in the first few weeks of the season.
A trip to fellow newly-promoted side Burnley follows the West Ham clash, while the Mackems have to wait until the fifth game of the new season before they meet a team who finished in the top half last time out.
If Sunderland can kick-start their season with a few wins from that early run of games, then it could easily provide them with the springboard to go on and make a real fist of their survival fight.
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