Blackpool are experiencing a tough time of things right now in the Championship, having lost four of their last five league encounters, including three on the spin.

Two of those recent defeats have come on home turf to Lancashire rivals Blackburn Rovers and high-flying Norwich City, whilst losses on the road to Rotherham United and Millwall have compounded Michael Appleton's current misery.

The most recent shining light for the Tangerines was a 1-0 win against Huddersfield Town in early September, but that was controversial as a failure of goal-line technology saw the Terriers have a perfectly legal equaliser ruled out.

 

 

 

 

Following a 1-0 loss to the Canaries on Saturday, Blackpool's task does not get any easier as they make the trip to the North East to take on Sunderland - but who should be in Appleton's starting 11? Let's take a look.

The Seasiders are still battling some injury concerns, and this match will come too soon for defenders James Husband and Rhys Williams, who will have to remain on the sidelines.

Keshi Anderson, Lewis Fiorini and Kevin Stewart all also remain absentees, so Appleton does not have that much of a squad to select from if he wants to shuffle the pack.

Blackpool didn't play too badly against a good team in Norwich, so Appleton may be reluctant to change too much, but with games coming thick and fast, there may have to be some freshening up.

One of those areas that could be altered is in the holding midfield role, with Kenny Dougall dropping out for Callum Connolly.

The ex-Everton man was an unused substitution at the weekend, but had featured in every match prior to that, mainly in the engine room.

There could also be an alteration up-front, with Jerry Yates going five matches without scoring since his goal against Bristol City in August.

And the experienced Gary Madine could be selected ahead of Shayne Lavery in a bid to bring in a more physical presence against the Black Cats, who have been going well recently despite having no fit and available strikers.