JANUARY buy Alfred N'Diaye has been left out of Sunderland's starting line-up to face Norwich City at the Stadium of Light today.

The £3.8m arrival from Bursaspor has paid the price for the Black Cats' inconsistency and David Vaughan has been recalled at the heart of the midfield.

Spanish defender Carlos Cuellar also returns to the team at the expense of Titus Bramble, while Jack Colback is replaced by Danny Rose at left-back.

Sunderland are in desperate need of three points to improve their chances of staying in the Premier League against a team with just one win from their last 12 games.

SUNDERLAND (4-4-2): Mignolet; Gardner, O'Shea, Cuellar, Rose; Sessegnon, Vaughan, Larsson, Johnson; Graham, Fletcher. Subs: Westwood (gk), Bardsley, N'Diaye, Wickham, Colback, Bramble, McClean.

NORWICH CITY (4-2-3-1): Bunn; Martin, Turner, Bassong, Garrido; Johnson, Howson, Snodgrass, Hoolahan, Bennett; Kamara. Subs: Camp (gk), Whittaker, Holt, Jackson, Fox, Becchio, R Bennett.