Sunderland will aim to keep their early unbeaten streak in the Championship going when travelling to John Mousinho's Portsmouth later today, with three wins from three managed so far.
Regis Le Bris' side haven't even leaked a goal yet in league action, with the shut-out of Scott Parker's Burnley last time out the most impressive result so far, managing to get the better of the Clarets by a single goal after the Lancashire outfit put nine past Luton Town and Cardiff City prior to their subdued visit to the Stadium of Light.
Still, even with the mood in the camp at an all-time high going into today's next league contest, there might well be a few changes to come for the tricky trip to the South Coast, with Chris Rigg in danger of dropping out of the Frenchman's starting XI at Fratton Park.
Rigg's performance vs Burnley
The Sunderland boss will have to rejig his line-up for sure, despite his side's flawless record in the division to date, owing to Dan Neil's late dismissal against Burnley.
Rigg could well be sacrificed for these changes to take place, having put in a sub-standard performance for his lofty standards in the 1-0 win, when contrasted next to his standout display versus Sheffield Wednesday the match before.
Minutes played
78
72
Goals
0
0
Assists
0
0
Shots
3
1
Touches
40
20
Accurate passes
22/25 (88%)
6/12 (50%)
Key passes
3
0
Total duels won
3/10
2/6
Stats by Sofascore
Glancing at his numbers above from those two clashes, Rigg did impress more during Sunderland's emphatic 4-0 victory over Danny Rohl's Owls, with two times more touches managed from the 17-year-old against the Black Cats' South Yorkshire opponents than against Parker's away side, on top of only completing a dire six accurate passes all afternoon versus Burnley.
His twenty touches against the Clarets actually saw him take fewer touches than Black Cats goalkeeper Anthony Patterson, who amassed 41 throughout the contest.
Sunderland know, looking back at last season, that it can be potentially harmful to a youngster's development to overplay them and not to give them regular breathers, as seen in Jobe Bellingham constantly playing week in week out, despite also still being a growing teenager learning the ropes.
Although Bellingham could be pushed further forward into Rigg's spot for the trip to Fratton Park, it looks unlikely that this will be the case, as a fresh option off the bench is touted to start in the 17-year-old's place instead.
Sunderland's best replacement for Rigg
This could, therefore, see Alan Browne be given the nod to start in that attacking midfield spot behind Eliezer Mayenda, after coming on late versus Burnley here.
The summer signing from Preston North End is very much an experienced performer when it comes to knowing the ins and outs of the second tier, having amassed 348 appearances at the level with the Lilywhites, before moving on surprisingly to the Stadium of Light.
Browne netted 46 goals in total for Preston before making the free transfer switch to Wearside, and could well open his Sunderland account versus Pompey if given a chance to impress from the start, after looking promising late on against Burnley.
The 29-year-old midfielder would better Rigg with one key pass from just 18 minutes of action, as Le Bris goes about shifting his line-up slightly to deal with Neil's suspension.
Date
Result
1. 22nd January 2022
1-0 Sunderland W
2. 2nd October 2021
4-0 Pompey W
3. 9th March 2021
2-0 Sunderland W
4. 24th October 2020
3-1 Pompey W
5. 1st February 2020
2-0 Pompey W
Looking at the table above, Sunderland don't have the best recent head-to-head record when facing off against Pompey, losing three of the last five match-ups that have taken place between the two sides, including a crushing 4-0 away defeat in 2021.
With Le Bris also having to deal with a selection conundrum when it comes to who replaces Neil if Rigg is dropped, it should make for a fascinating early-season affair.
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