Phil Parkinson’s Sunderland host League One Rochdale at the Stadium of Light; could Kyle Lafferty and Charlie Wyke start together in attack?
Sunderland could debut a new tactical approach in Tuesday night’s League One clash with Rochdale, assistant coach Sam Parkin has told the Northern Echo, with Kyle Lafferty and Charlie Wyke potentially in line to start together for the first time.
Black Cats boss Phil Parkinson has always loved a target man. It was James Hanson to barrelled and battered Bradford City to the League Cup final in 2013 while Gary Madine played a key role as his Bolton side sealed promotion from the third tier three years ago.
So it should be no real surprise that Wyke, the Middlesbrough-born 6ft 2ins number nine, has played the best football of his Sunderland career since Parkinson replaced Jack Ross in the dugout.
The experienced tactician shuffled his pack in the final ten minutes of Saturday’s hard-fought victory over Ipswich Town however, bringing Lafferty off the bench to partner Wyke in attack before Chris Maguire thumped home a late winner.
And, with Rochdale travelling to Wearside tonight, Sunderland could go two-up-top from the start for the very first time.
“People say it’s harder to play that way (with two strikers) for the full 90 minutes, but I don’t necessarily think that’s the case,” said Parkin.
“Charlie’s got football intelligence and he’s good at bringing people into play, we saw that at the weekend. Kyle has also got good touch, but he’s a runner as well. He can run down the side of people, and I think the pair of them together could be a threat, I really do.
“It’s not just about that, it’s also about making sure you have the right balance to the rest of the team around them, but I definitely think it’s a viable option. You have to have the right balance, both in and out of possession, but it’s certainly not something that we’ve dismissed.”
Northern Ireland international Lafferty is yet to really get going as a Sunderland player but some of his best performances in recent years have come alongside a strike partner.
The former Rangers man is a tall, rangy striker but he is skilful too, capable of dropping off into a deeper role to link the play.
If he can form a decent partnership with Wyke, League One defences won’t look forward to facing Sunderland over the next three months.
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