What to do with Watmore

There haven’t been too many positives to draw from the start of Sunderland’s season, but Dick Advocaat can be satisfied that Duncan Watmore’s promotion to the first-team ranks could hardly have gone any better.

The Northern Echo:

The 21-year-old was the stand-out player in the Black Cats’ development side throughout last season, and his three substitute appearances in the current campaign have brought two goals.

The question now is whether the youngster should start tomorrow’s game at Aston Villa. With Jeremain Lens expected to be fit for the trip to Villa Park, it is hard to see where Watmore would fit in if Jermain Defoe remains in a wide position. If he carries on playing as he has been though, Advocaat will have to find a place for him sooner rather than later.

 

Back four troubles persist

If John O’Shea’s recall to the starting line-up was supposed to shore up Sunderland’s defence, it hasn’t really worked. There was a marginal improvement in last weekend’s draw with Swansea, but the first half of Tuesday’s League Cup win over Exeter contained yet another defensive horror show.

The Northern Echo:

Both O’Shea and Sebastian Coates were at fault as League Two Exeter scored three goals in 45 minutes, and with Younes Kaboul also having struggled in the opening two games of the season, Advocaat cannot claim to have a single centre-half in decent form.

There is a pressing need to address that before the transfer window closes on Tuesday, but for now, he will have to go with what he has. For all that Tuesday night’s defending was shambolic, that will probably mean the heart of the back four remaining unchanged.

 

Keeping tabs on Traore

For all their struggles, Sunderland’s defence made a decent fist of dealing with in-form Swansea winger Jefferson Montero last weekend. This afternoon, they could find themselves with another flying wide man to contain.

Aston Villa boss Tim Sherwood described 19-year-old Adama Traore as a “development project” when he moved from Barcelona’s B team this summer, but the youngster’s searing pace was the key factor in Villa’s goal in last weekend’s 2-1 defeat at Crystal Palace and he scored again in the midweek League Cup win over Notts County.

The Northern Echo: Tim Sherwood, pictured, is putting his faith in Christian Benteke

Will Sherwood give him his first Premier League start tomorrow? It would be something of a risk, but Sunderland’s defence often looks vulnerable against raw pace and the Black Cats would not relish the task of containing Traore.