Sunderland appear to be well on their way to relegation out of the Championship.
While the situation may appear bleak for Sunderland right now, the fact that the Black Cats are only four points off safety in the Championship and certainly not dead and buried may be tempting Chris Coleman to take fewer risks with his team selections.
Relying on the young players may be a gamble that, if it does not pay off, may see the gap between themselves and survival increase quickly, so it does probably make sense to stick with the experienced options in the hope that they can turn their fortunes around.
But with one player stealing the show for the under-23 side in their clash with Everton over the weekend, perhaps Coleman should consider taking a gamble and handing a chance to Luke Molyneux.
The 19-year-old put in an excellent performance for the Black Cats, scoring both goals as they went on to win 2-1 to upset the formbook as they also went into the contest off the back of a poor season.
Transfermarkt reports that Molyneux is out of contract with the club at the end of the season, so he may also have additional incentive to make an impact if he gets a chance with the first-team before the end of the campaign.
And adding a youngster currently high on confidence may be a good way for Coleman to inject some positivity into their team heading into a crucial nine games for the club.
Molyneux is unlikely to be a game-changer if he does get a chance in the first-team, but Sunderland are in desperate need of finding a spark so rewarding the youngster with a chance against Preston North End may be worth trying because as things stand, the Black Cats appear to be heading for back-to-back relegations.
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