Sunderland v Coventry City: Eight players now ruled out of Stadium of Light clash
Sunderland are preparing for the second leg of the playoffs against Coventry City on Tuesday.
The Black Cats are preparing to play host to Frank Lampard’s side just four days after their 2-1 win in the Midlands.
Last time out, goals from Wilson Isidor and Eliezer Mayenda proved to be the difference despite Jack Rudoni’s effort on 70 minutes.
This hands Regis Le Bris’ side a one-goal advantage going into the second leg as multiple players look set to miss out in SR5.
Sunderland and Coventry in fitness update for playoff clash
There is no lack of anticipation and nerves heading into the second leg for the Mackems after such a frustrating run of form.
After losing five on the bounce, there were plenty of reservations ahead of the clash at the Coventry Building Society Arena.
This evaporated somewhat when Isidor opened the scoring before the Black Cats went on to secure the win away from home.
| Stat | Coventry City | Sunderland |
| Possession | 74 | 26 |
| Shots | 14 | 10 |
| Shots on target | 3 | 3 |
| Big chances | 1 | 2 |
Now, Le Bris’ side have to replicate that success at the Stadium of Light to book themselves in the final at Wembley later in the month.
It appears that the Frenchman will have to do so without a number of first-team players, with WhoScored reporting (12 May) that Aji Alese, Niall Huggins, Jayden Danns, Ahmed Abdullahi and Ian Poveda set to miss out.
This will also be the case for Lampard’s Sky Blues, with Oliver Dovin, Victor Torp and Norman Bassette also likely to be absent in the north east.
Sunderland to be hopeful of win v Coventry City
The Mackems’ record against Coventry may not be great historically, but the first leg certainly painted a positive picture.
As the away side, the performance was top drawer and was largely deserving of a positive result in such a massive game for the SR5 club.
Now Le Bris has to try and replicate that showing at the Stadium of Light, but will be happy to do so with Romaine Mundle back among the squad.
The French head coach now has to look to get the best out of the likes of Isidor and Mayenda once again while adding the 22-year-old back to the squad.