Sunderland are hoping to get back to winning ways in league action today against Shrewsbury Town today amid growing impatience over the takeover of the club.

A deal was agreed in principle on Christmas Eve for young tycoon Kyril Louis-Dreyfus to purchase the Black Cats, but nearly a whole month has passed with no confirmation of his takeover.

The club did appoint a new COO this past week with the arrival of Steve Davison, which some saw as a pointer towards approval of the takeover happening imminently.

But that's not the case and Black Cats boss Lee Johnson is still being left in limbo, and we can assume that his transfer plans have been altered considering how long it is taking for all parties to finalise the deal.

The focus has to return to on-pitch matters now though, as a disappointing loss to Plymouth at the Stadium of Light in midweek left them nine points behind the league-leading pair of Hull and Lincoln.

Quiz: The top 16 Sunderland record player departures – Which club did they join though?

Johnson has made two changes from the Tuesday's defeat, with Dion Sanderson and Carl Winchester dropping out for Max Power and Grant Leadbitter, with Powet set to deputise at right back like he did against Wimbledon last week.

The big criticism of the starting 11 though is that Callum McFadzean has retained his place, with some fans feeling as though he's the major weak link in the system, with Josh Scowen staying in the team also a concern to some.

Check out some Black Cats reactions to Johnson's line-up below.