Sunderland predicted line-up vs Coventry: Deeper role for Alex Pritchard?

How might Sunderland line-up at the Coventry Building Society Arena for the weekend's Championship encounter?

Sunderland will attempt to put the midweek disappointment at Rotherham behind them when they travel to Coventry on Saturday. 

The game is the last in the frantic weekend-midweek-weekend schedule that has had such a visibly draining effect in the Sunderland players, which will be welcomed by boss Tony Mowbray. 

Before he can breathe a sigh of relief, though, Mowbray has a team to select, and that will involve some difficult decisions. 

So, what side might he pick for the trip to the CBS Arena?

Predicted Sunderland line-up vs Coventry (4-1-3-1)

GK: Anthony Patterson - Not at his best at Rotherham - nowhere near - but in no danger at all of losing his place. 

RB: Trai Hume - Rested at Rotherham but will have done more than enough to earn a chance to retake his place at the earliest opportunity. 

CB: Dan Ballard - Should be ready to go again and increasingly tough to imagine a Sunderland team without him. 

CB: Danny Batth - Taken off early at Rotherham, probably with the schedule in mind as Sunderland need his experience more than ever with Corry Evans and Ross Stewart out. 

LB: Aji Alese - Probably come back in for Dennis Cirkin, who looked incredibly rusty at New York Stadium. 

CM: Dan Neil - Played a lot of games but looked fresher than Edouard Michut at Rotherham despite playing far more minutes this season. 

CM: Alex Pritchard - Could be used in a deeper midfield role alongside Neil to give Michut, who is new to this kind of schedule, another breather. 

RM: Patrick Roberts - Another who was rested at Rotherham, and there was no point in doing that if he wasn't going to start this one. 

CAM: Amad Diallo - Definitely lost a little of his spark of later due to fatigue, but the quality is still far too great to ignore. 

LM: Jack Clarke - Seems able to play every game, which is just as well given his recent form.  

CF: Joe Gelhardt: Only striker available so hard to see him getting a rest any time soon. 

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