Sunderland will make the trip to Turf Moor to take on league leaders Burnley on Friday evening.
The Lads return from the international break looking to produce a strong run of results in their remaining eight games of the Sky Bet Championship.
Head coach Tony Mowbray has been previewing the game and has been discussing the saliant talking points surrounding the fixture…
Toughest game of the season on paper, what are you telling the players ahead of the game?
“Like we have done in all of the games, we will be aggressive and attack the game.
“Sometimes the oppositions team quality can push you back but we won’t go with the mindset of being defensive. We will go and take the game to them.
“As I have said over recent weeks, it is almost like a free hit for us. Let’s be positive and play our game. See if we can get some good movement around them and see how many chances we can create.
“The collective structure of the team, out of possession against a top team, you have to work hard like we have done against the top teams already.
“Norwich were a team that were in the Premier League recently and we went and did a decent job. We shouldn’t fear anyone really. We should go and have a go really and that’s what we intend to do on Friday night.
Dan Ballard is the latest injury blow after learning he will be out for 2-3 weeks. How are you feeling about it?
“I’m not getting upset about it. It’s part and parcel of football, you just have to get on with it. It is an opportunity for other players to show what they can do.
“We’ve played without a recognised nine. Young Joe Gelhardt is like a nine-and-a-half who can either play wide or play in behind.
“It’s an opportunity for younger players to get more minutes on the pitch.
“Lynden Gooch is available. Niall Huggins is almost available, he will probably get another Under-21s game under his belt. We’ll be fine and we are looking forward to the game.
“Knowing that we have got some pretty key players missing but let’s be really positive and show that even at the depths of the squad, we can compete.”
Are you considering blooding the younger players of the group into the first-team?
“We have to try and win football matches for the support base of this football club. They don’t want to waste hundreds of pounds on going to watch the team if we are not interested in trying to win. We want to win every game.
“I have to get the balance right between blooding young players and giving them an opportunity to be better next year from the experience they gained. They only get experience by playing but if they are not doing very well then they will be coming off.
“If they start on the bench and they see how the game is going.
“I the supporters feel excited that we are trying to build a team with really. I do think there is a core of really talented players at the Club. Dan Ballard, Dan Neil and more are really talented football players and we can build a team for the next four years. We have to keep them fit as well.
“If we can get recruitment right in the transfer window, then we will be an exciting team next year.”