The Black Cats ranked as high as fourth in the Premier League standings in November, but they have regressed slightly in recent weeks. Sunderland have won just one of their last seven league matches, although they do deserve some sympathy for the number of key players they have unavailable. Regular starters Noah Sadiki, Reinildo and Bertrand Traore have all been competing at AFCON, while Dan Ballard has also missed out through injury. 

Sunderland have been a tough side to beat, but have shown a vulnerability on the road - they have won just two of their ten away games this season, scoring just five goals in that time. Brentford have been quite similar in the sense they have looked a lot stronger on home turf - the Bees have lost just one of their 11 home matches across all competitions this season, and that was against Man City.

Brentford have posed a real danger at the Gtech this campaign, and they have accumulated the fourth-most points of any Premier League club this season on home turf. For context, they have taken more points at home than Liverpool have at Anfield, than Man United at Old Trafford and Newcastle at St James’ Park. 

Robin Roefs will have to keep his wits about him here, but he has been a standout performer for the Black Cats this season, reliable in between the sticks. The Dutchman ranks second for total saves made in the Premier League out of all top flight keepers, averaging 3.5 saves per game. That figure increases to 3.9 when only looking at away games, where he has been forced into at least three saves in eight of his ten matches. He only failed to hit this mark against Burnley back in August, and against Man City - but he did concede three times and went close with two saves. 

With several key players absent, Simon Adingra has been presented with an opportunity to start on the left wing in recent weeks, which he has seized. He scored his first goal for the Black Cats against Leeds, since completing a move from Brighton over the summer, so will hope to kick on as he hopes to establish himself as a starter on the flank. 

The Ivory Coast international has started the last four consecutive matches, during which he has racked up ten fouls. He accounted for four of Sunderland’s nine fouls against Man City last weekend, earning himself a booking. Adingra is averaging 2.4 fouls per 90 this season for his new club, and has registered a foul in seven of his eight starts overall. 

He will be directly up against Michael Kayode midweek - the Brentford fullback is averaging 1.23 fouls drawn per 90 this season, and has been fouled in each of his last eight appearances. 

Brian Brobbey is another player who has been given the chance to start in recent weeks, replacing Wilson Isidor as the primary option up front. Brobbey can be an incredibly difficult player to contain, as he uses his body and physicality so well to retain possession and drag his side up the field. 

The Dutchman picked up some promising positions against Spurs last time out, registering a total of three shots, with all of them coming from inside the box. He did also get on the scoresheet, scoring the equalising goal in the 80th minute to earn the Black Cats a point at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Brobbey hit this mark in a tough matchup against Man City before that, registering just the one shot which forced a save from Gianuigi Donnarumma. 

This selection has landed in five consecutive matches when taking into consideration the SuperSub rule, with Wilson Isidor being Brobbey’s usual replacement.