Sunderland will look to maintain their early unbeaten run in the Championship when they host John Mousinho’s Portsmouth later today, having made it three wins from three so far.
Regis Le Bri’s side have yet to concede a single goal in league games, with Scott Parker’s latest Burnley outing their most impressive result to date as he managed to beat the Clarets by one goal after the game. The Lancashire outfit beat Luton Town and Cardiff City by nine goals ahead of their subdued visit to the Stadium of Light.
Despite the mood in the camp ahead of today’s next league game at an all-time high, there could be some changes for the tricky trip to the south coast, where Chris Rigg is at risk of relegation. The Frenchman’s starting XI at Fratton Park.
Riggs’ performance against Burnley
The Sunderland boss will have to throw out his squad, despite his side’s unblemished record in the division so far, following Dan Neil’s late dismissal against Burnley.
Rigg could be sacrificed for these changes as he performed below his lofty standards in the 1-0 win, in contrast to his outstanding performance against Sheffield Wednesday the game before.
Riggs’ numbers this season against Wednesday + Burnley
Country
Wednesday
Burnley
Minutes played
78
72
EXAMPLE
0
0
assistant
0
0
Shot
3
1
A touch
40
20
Precise fits
22/25 (88%)
6/12 (50%)
Key pass
3
0
Total Matches Won
3/10
2/6
Looking at his numbers above from the two clashes, Rigg impressed more during Sunderland’s emphatic 4-0 win over Danny Rohl’s Owls, with the 17-year-old having twice as many touches against the Black Cats’ South Yorkshire opposition as against Parker. away team, in addition to making just six accurate passes all afternoon against Burnley.
His twenty touches against the Clarets actually meant he received fewer touches than Black Cats goalkeeper Anthony Patterson, who collected 41 in the competition.
Looking back at last season, Sunderland know that overplaying them and not giving them regular breathing space can potentially be detrimental to a youngster’s development, as evidenced by Jobe Bellingham playing consistently week in and week out despite still learning as a teenager. ropes.
While Bellingham could be pushed further forward into Riggs’ place for the trip to Fratton Park, that seems unlikely to be the case with a new option from the bench being offered to start in place of the 17-year-old.
Sunderland’s best replacement for Rigg
So this could mean that Alan Browne has been told to start in that attacking midfield spot behind Eliezer Mayenda, having made a late appearance there against Burnley.
The summer signing from Preston North End is a very experienced player when it comes to knowing the ins and outs of League Two, having made 348 appearances at the level with the Lilywhites before his surprise move to the Stadium of Light.
Browne scored a total of 46 goals for Preston before moving to Wearside and could open his Sunderland account against Pompey if given the chance to impress from the start, having looked promising against Burnley.
The 29-year-old midfielder would have been better than Rigg with a key pass just 18 minutes into the game, while Le Bris looks to change his formation slightly to cope with Neil’s suspension.
Sunderland’s H2H record with Pompey – last 5 matches
The date
The results
- January 22, 2022 1-0 Sunderland W
- October 2, 2021 4-0 Pompey W
- March 9, 2021 2-0 Sunderland W
- October 24, 2020 3-1 Pompey W
- February 1, 2020 2-0 Pompey W It comes from 11v11 Looking at the table above, Sunderland do not have the best recent head-to-head record when facing Pompey, having lost three of the last five meetings between the two teams, including a crushing 4-0 away defeat in 2021. With Le Bris also having to deal with the issue of selection when it comes to who will replace Neil if Rigg is out, it should be a fascinating early season affair.