Sean’s starting 11: (4-3-3 ) Joel, Coleman, Stones, Jagielka, Baines, McCarthy, Barkley, Osman; Lennon, Mirallas, Lukaku.
In goal, I’d be tempted to give a Joel a go for the last 3 games. He was very unfortunate to dropped once Howard returned from injury, and these last 3 games provide an opportunity for him to build on what he did earlier in the season. The back four speaks for itself. In midfield, I’d go with a 3 of McCarthy sitting, with Barkley and Osman slightly ahead of him. I think this game is a good opportunity to play Barkley a little deeper. In a game were we should dominate the ball, in would be good to see him trying to dictate a game from the central position, and at times drive at the opposition from deep. Up top, I’d go with a 3 of Lennon on the right, Mirallas on the left and Lukaku up to. Plenty of pace for the likes of Barkley and Osman to supply from deep.
Paddy’s starting 11: (4-3-3) Howard, Coleman, Stones, Jagielka, Baines, McCarthy, Osman, Barkley, Lennon, Mirallas, Lukaku.
Well last weekend was woeful, wasn’t it? The less said about it the better, but for most of the match we were hopelessly exposed in central areas and couldn’t cope with the direct threat posed by the likes of Benteke and Delph. I’ve gone for 4-3-3 this time, as it allows us to control possession from midfield and attack with pace from central and wide areas. The back five remains the same as in previous weeks- it functioned well enough until last weekend’s defeat against a physical Villa side, and is just about the best we have at the moment.
In midfield, I’d advocate recalls for Barkley and Osman at the expense of the lacklustre pair of Barry and Naismith. As I’ve mentioned previously, the former is often hideously off the pace (see Villa’s 3rd last weekend) and the latter slows down our attacking play due to his technical deficiencies. Their potential replacements; Barkley and Osman, retain the ball well, but also possess the ability to thread a killer through ball when necessary and arrive late in the box to score vital goals- this will be important if we’re to break down a battling Sunderland rearguard on Saturday, who will no doubt sit deep and look to deprive the likes of Lukaku, Barkley and Lennon the space in which they normally thrive. Elsewhere, my front three is the same as Sean’s because, quite simply, it combines pace, power and skill in abundance- more than enough to beat this Sunderland side comfortably. I just hope that we show the fight required to get the job done…
