2 Sunderland team dilemmas facing Alex Neil ahead of Wigan Athletic clash

Without a League One victory in six, Sunderland need to get back to winning ways sooner rather than later, with their objective now all about securing a play-off spot.  

The Black Cats’ recent dip in form has severely diminished their chances of securing automatic promotion this season and they are now hanging onto sixth place. 

The task does not get much more difficult than today’s fixture, with Neil’s side travelling to Wigan Athletic. 

However, the Latics’ record against promotion-chasing teams on home soil has been poor this season, something that Sunderland will be looking to capitalise on. 

Here, we take a look at two team dilemmas Alex Neil has ahead of today’s clash in the north west…

Goalkeeping options

Playing the majority of this season in a deputy role, Anthony Patterson has started the last four games and could be called up to starting XI inclusion once more. 

The 21-year-old has played a back-up role to Ron-Thorben Hoffmann for much of this campaign, but he will be enjoying this extended period of games in-between the sticks.

There is certainly an excellent level of competition in the goalkeeping department, meaning that it would be no surprise if the German goalkeeper was back in the XI. 

A rest for Callum Doyle? 

Alex Neil revealed to the Chronicle Live during his club’s preparations for today’s clash that Callum Doyle is at risk of burning out. 

The 18-year-old has featured regularly for the Black Cats this season, appearing 33 times in the league, and in all competitions, he has racked up over 3000 minutes. 

Doyle has not missed a single minute of this season since the start of October, and whilst he is the athletic type, Sunderland find themselves within a congested fixture list, where three-game weeks