Sunderland vs Millwall Predicted Lineup - Three Changes to Regis Le Bris' Side

Sunderland need to bounce back after the international break following an abject perfomance and a 3-0 loss against Coventry.

IMAGO / PA Images

The international break is over and regular league fixtures return this weekend. Sunderland are faced with what promises to be another difficult test on Saturday against former Black Cats boss Alex Neil's Millwall side.

Millwall sit in 11th place in the table however are only 6 points away from 6th place, with 8 matches still to play. Therefore, the Lions are likely to be fired up for their visit to the Stadium of Light, following on from their 1-0 win at home to Stoke before the break.

Regis Le Bris' side need to recover from their disappointing loss to Frank Lampard's Coventry City and the Frenchman will need to make changes to his team if they are to do so.

One change that will be forced upon Le Bris is at the left-back position. Dennis Cirkin was forced off with an injury against Coventry in around the 70th minute, leaving Sunderland fans fearing the worst. However, the full-back then headed off for international duty with the England Under-21 squad and all seemed to be fine.

Later in the week though Sunderland announced that Cirkin had pulled out of the squad, with rumours around the club claiming he is to be sidelined for 6-8 weeks. Therefore Le Bris has a decison to make regarding who takes Cirkin's spot in the defence. The likely option is bringing Leo Hjelde back in to the side, who will be back fit after missing the Coventry game with a knock and is naturally suited to playing at left- back.

Leo Hjelde for Sunderland / IMAGO

Another enforced change that the Black Cats' boss will have to make is at the right-back position. Trai Hume is another defender that was called up for international duty with his country Northern Ireland.

Speaking after their friendly against Switzerland last Friday, Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill stated that Hume would not be available for the game against Sweden on Tuesday and revealed Hume has been playing through games with a hip injury for Sunderland, not even attending training.

This gives Le Bris a new problem, as Hume had been Sunderland's only fit right-back. Le Bris will surely bring Dutch defender Jenson Seelt into the side and move Luke O'nien into right-back, who was named in the League One team of the season in the 2018/19 campaign for his perfomances at right-back for the Black Cats.

The third change that Le Bris could make is in the midfield. The Sunderland manager could decide to change the shape of the midfield entirely by bringing in Wilson Isidor and playing a 4-4-2 formation with Isidor and Mayenda up front.

This formation had limited success against Preston North End at home and may be more suited to be deployed against a team that play a high defensive line. Millwall are likely to sit deep when they come to the Stadium of Light, so the 4-3-3 will probably be the better option for Sunderland this Saturday.

Ireland international Alan Browne offers something completely different in the midfield for Sunderland. Browne has started two games for Sunderland since returning from injury and looks to have slotted back into his midfield position very nicely, being assured in possession and bringing hard work and determination to win the ball back.

Browne is a very good alternative to Rigg for the Black Cats' manager to have at his disposal, and bringing him into the eleven against Millwall could help give Regis Le Bris' side the edge over the Lions and help Sunderland get the three points.

Alan Browne playing for Sunderland / IMAGO

Sunderland AFC Predicted XI:

Predicted Sunderland lineup vs Millwall / buildlineup.com