Will Patrick Roberts be fit for Sunderland-Newcastle clash?

Sunderland started the new year with a controlled win over Preston North End on New Year’s Day while Newcastle were beaten 4-2 against Premier League leaders Liverpool at Anfield. Eddie Howe’s side have hit a difficult run of form ahead of their first trip to Wearside since 2015 with Sunderland hoping to maintain their current nine-match unbeaten streak against their fierce rivals.

Beale is no stranger to a derby day atmosphere having endured his fair share of Old Firm clashes when part of the Rangers coaching staff before then taking over as head coach- at Ibrox. The 43-year-old has been in charge for two-weeks at the Stadium of Light and will now be thrust into the powder-keg of a Wear-Tyne derby.

But how will Beale line his side up to face Newcastle? The Sunderland head coach revealed a major doubt over winger Patrick Roberts’ fitness after he was forced off with a calf problem in the 1-1 draw with Rotherham United a week ago. Roberts missed out in the New Year’s Day win over Preston with Sunderland set to make a late call on the 26-year-old.

“Patrick is a big doubt for the game,” said Beale. “We’ll make a call later in the week but, at the moment, he’ll be a big doubt so we’re no change from the weekend. We didn’t come out of the weekend with anymore problems.”

Having no further problems is a boost for Beale, likewise was Nazariy Rusyn ending Sunderland’s long wait for a striker to find the back of the net. The Ukrainian ended a near year-long drought for a Sunderland striker to score in the league when netting Sunderland’s second in the win over Preston.

“It was a lovely personal moment for him, but it was a real weight off the fans and the rest of squads back as well that we had a striker score a goal,” said Beale.

“The focus has been on Jack’s run, which was a fantastic run, but the movement from Naz was very, very good and is maybe something the team has lacked so far this season. I’m sure he’ll go into the weekend’s game full of confidence.

“You can see how hard he works at his game and the fans have taken to that already and if he continues scoring he’ll become a fans favourite quite quickly. “

Rusyn’s goal could well hand him a starting spot in Saturday’s derby clash but as the clock ticks down, who else is likely to feature in Beale’s starting XI? We Are Sunderland’s Matty Hewitt and Joe Ramage share their predicted line-ups for the FA Cup third round tie.

Matty Hewitt

I'll be very surprised if we see any changes to Michael Beale's Starting XI this weekend. The only real possible inclusion could be Patrick Roberts if he's deemed fit enough to start against Newcastle. He limped off against Rotherham but the early consensus from Beale was they acted quickly enough to ensure it wouldn't be a long-term spell on the sidelines.

He kept his cards close to his chest in this week’s press conference, but the form of Alex Pritchard over the festive period has softened the blow. The experienced playmaker has been one of the standout performers for Sunderland and they've looked better with him in the side.

Another minor concern would be over at left-back. Aji Alese made his first appearance of the season, although performing well against Preston, it would be a big ask for him to complete 90 minutes against Premier League opposition. Still thoroughly deserving of a start, but one to monitor as the game goes on.

Nazariy Rusyn also deserves to keep his place in the starting XI after netting his first goal in red and white. Another against Newcastle would be another huge confidence boost for him.

Matty’s XI: Patterson, Hume, O’Nien, Ballard, Alese, Ekwah, Neil, Pritchard, Jobe, Clarke, Rusyn

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Joe Ramage

I find it hard to see Sunderland changing anything from the New Year’s Day win over Preston, to be honest. Given the busy festive period, and it still being very early into Michael Beale’s tenure,  it felt like a really accomplished performance at the beginning of the week.

The reintroduction of Alex Pritchard worked brilliantly and he completed Jobe Bellingham and Jack Clarke well in behind Nazariy Rusyn. Sunderland have waited so long for a forward to score a goal you simply cannot take Rusyn out of the starting line-up for this one. The Ukrainian scored for the under-21s against Arsenal recently and then finally broke the duck in first team action which you hope will breed further confidence. It would seem very strange not to keep the 25-year-old up front, irrespective of the level of competition he is going to come up against in the likes of Sven Botman and, or, Fabian Schar.

The only real decision, for me, will be if Patrick Roberts is passed fit enough to play. Despite the winger not producing the kind of end numbers in terms of goals and assists this season he is obviously still an asset to this squad. Newcastle have been a little shaky, defensively, over their last couple of games and, particularly if Dan Burn were to start at left back for Eddie Howe’s side, Roberts could be a threat.

With that said, I would find it very difficult to drop Pritchard after an impressive return to the line-up against Preston. He has created from the bench in recent weeks but was influential in Sunderland getting that game sewn up by half-time on Monday and his experience may also be important for this type of fixture. Beale may save Roberts for the bench as an option, or at least as something to potentially keep up his sleeve depending on how the game pans out.

I think Aji Alese’s successful return to the squad against Preston was a huge bonus and Beale’s decision to bring him back in was with one eye on this fixture so that Trai Hume could move back over to his favoured right side. With Alese on the left and Hume on the right it gave Sunderland much more balance throughout their shape and I expect the same XI here.

Joe’s XI: Patterson, Hume, O’Nien, Ballard, Alese, Ekwah, Neil, Pritchard, Jobe, Clarke, Rusyn