Sunderland could turn to their talented teenage forward after a dismal showing at Sheffield United.
Sunderland travel to Nottingham Forest on Saturday looking to escape the Championship’s bottom three as 2017 draws to a close.
The optimism of a first home win in close to a year – against Fulham earlier this month – has dissipated somewhat, with the Black Cats’ most recent match seeing Sheffield United cruise to a 3-0 win.
Chris Coleman waits on the return of Lewis Grabban from injury, but will he be able to make any changes?
While it’s unlikely that Robbin Ruiter will lose his place in goal, it will be interesting to see if Coleman sticks with the three-man defence that had worked so well prior to the collapse in Sheffield.
Unfortunately for Coleman and Sunderland, there are few alternatives as Lamine Kone remains out and the Black Cats may well have to stick with the same set-up again.
Indeed, the same can be said of the midfield, where Didier Ndong and Jack Rodwell were not involved at Bramhall Lane and so Lynden Gooch and George Honeyman will surely continue with Darron Gibson in the middle.
Coleman’s greatest scope for changes comes in attack where, ahead of Aiden McGeady, the Sunderland boss must again decide if he will rely on James Vaughan.
And, given the bluntness of the Black Cats attack in their most recent defeat, it would be exciting to see Josh Maja handed a chance from the start. With Vaughan in reserve and little to lose, it is a risk Coleman can take.
This is how we expect Sunderland to line up against Forest:
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