Sunderland will be looking to get back to winning ways in League One this weekend when they host Milton Keynes Dons at the Stadium of Light.

The Black Cats picked up a point in last Saturday's clash with AFC Wimbledon as Alex Pritchard's strike cancelled out Luke McCormick's effort in the first-half of this fixture.

Sunderland have recently lost ground in the battle for a top-two finish as a dip in form by the club has allowed Wigan Athletic to build a seven point gap in third-tier standings.

Set to face an MK Dons side who have recently overtaken them in the league table, the Black Cats know that they will need to be at their very best in this fixture if they are to secure a victory.

Having witnessed his side's display against Wimbledon, it will be intriguing to see whether Alex Neil opts to make any significant alterations to his starting eleven tomorrow.

Here, we have decided to take a look at how Sunderland could line up against MK Dons...

Having deployed the 4-3-3 formation in the club's meeting with Wimbledon, Neil may opt to stick with this system on Saturday.

Thorben Hoffmann could potentially replace Anthony Patterson in goal after returning to training following his recent absence from the club's side.

Danny Batth has also trained alongside his team-mates this week and thus may be handed a start in the heart of Sunderland's defence alongside Bailey Wright who recorded a respectable WhoScored match rating of 6.86 against Wimbledon.

Dennis Cirkin and Trai Hume will occupy the full back roles in this fixture whilst Jay Matete and Carl Winchester could feature alongside Corry Evans in central-midfield.

 

 

During the 19 league games that Evans has featured in for Sunderland in the third-tier this season, he has managed to make 1.5 tackles and 1.4 interceptions per game whilst he is also averaging 30.1 passes per fixture (as per WhoScored).

By producing a positive performance tomorrow, the Northern Ireland international could potentially help the Black Cats seal a morale-boosting victory.

Pritchard and Jack Clarke will be tasked with providing creativity from their wide roles for forward Ross Stewart who has scored an impressive total of 18 goals in League One this season.