A player that NEEDS to start, Sunderland's home form and options from the bench.
These are the three key talking points in our latest instalment of View From the Terraces, ahead of the clash with Plymouth Argyle this weekend.
Callum Jacques takes a look at the platform the Black Cats have to build on, after last weekend’s draw at the Riverside.
Currently a point outside the top six Sunderland will be hoping a win at home to Plymouth this weekend will be enough to see them climb back into the play-off places, as the business end of the season approaches.
But what are the key talking points heading into this weekend?
Nazariy Rusyn needs to start
The Ukrainian forward netted his second goal for Sunderland coming off the bench against Boro and right now, he looks like the best option to lead the line as a number nine.
Despite starting four less games than Mason Burstow - playing 266 minutes less - Rusyn has managed three more attempts than the Chelsea loanee, as well as boasting an xG of 1.71, according to FotMob, which is 0.37 higher than his team-mate at 1.34.
Rusyn, has also impressed with Sunderland’s Under-21s side, netting three goals in his last three outings, as well as grabbing an assist.
Both of his Championship goals were assisted by Jack Clarke, in the form of a Sunderland counter-attack. If the Black Cats can continue to play to Rusyn’s strengths on the counter, him and Clarke could become the deadly duo of the Championship.
It may have taken until February, but it finally looks like Sunderland have found their number nine without having to spend big in the January transfer window.
Michael Beale needs to turn the Stadium of Light into a fortress
So far during Beale’s tenure Sunderland have played four league games at the Stadium of Light. Of those four games, the Black Cats have only won twice, against Preston North End and Stoke City, with the other two games ending in disappointing defeats against Coventry City and Hull City.
If Sunderland are to finish in the top six come the end of the season, Beale must ensure that they're winning more games at home than they're losing.
His side have eight games remaining at the Stadium of Light before the end of the season and seven of the eight teams they're set to face, currently reside in the bottom half of the Championship table, with league leaders Leicester the only exception.
Tricky away trips to Norwich City, Southampton, Leeds United, West Brom and Watford also lay in wait for the Wearsiders before the conclusion of the campaign.
So, making sure they pick up maximum points on home turf is paramount if they're to make a push for the play-offs.
Are Beale’s substitutions coming too late when plan A isn’t working?
Beale's record consists of three wins, four losses and two draws as he approaches his tenth game in charge.
However, questions arise over whether that record could be better than what it currently is, if he'd decided to switch things up sooner.
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In the six games which haven't ended in victory, Beale has used 17 substitutes, ten of which came after the 70th minute mark and seven of those came in the final ten minutes of games.
The Sunderland head coach hasn't yet used the full number of substitutes at his disposal, using four of the five available to him in just one in those nine games in charge.
Perhaps Beale felt like he didn’t have enough quality on the bench to change the game, but we should see a change going forward after the additions of Leo Hjelde, Callum Styles and Romaine Mundle.
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