It is make or break for Sunderland this afternoon as their 2024/25 campaign will be defined by the outcome of today’s Championship play-off final clash with Sheffield United.
The Black Cats beat Coventry City 3-2 on aggregate in the semi-finals of the play-offs, thanks to a dramatic late winner in extra-time from central defender Dan Ballard, sending the Stadium of Light into raptures.
Regis Le Bris now faces the unenviable task of selecting the right starting XI to take to the field against Sheffield United this afternoon at Wembley, and Chris Rigg is one player who should be brought back in.
Why Chris Rigg should start
Sunderland know that this is a high-stakes game and that any small errors could be the difference between another season in the Championship or playing Premier League football in the 2025/26 campaign.
Therefore, it could make sense to bring in another midfielder who can provide solidity just ahead of Dan Neil and Jobe Bellingham, making it even harder for the Blades to break them down.
In the regular Championship season, Rigg won four duels per game on average, winning 47% of his battles overall, and averaged 1.6 tackles and interceptions per game, without a single error that led to a goal or a penalty for the opposition.
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This means that the teenage midfielder would add another layer of defensive insurance ahead of the back four by coming into the side, but it would also mean that Eliezer Mayenda would have to drop to the bench to make way for the English ace to play behind Wilson Isidor.
Why Eliezer Mayenda should be dropped
Le Bris should ruthlessly drop the 20-year-old starlet to the bench for today’s final in order to make room for Rigg to provide a reliable presence at the top of the midfield.
This would also provide Mayenda with the opportunity to come on as an impact substitute, which suits his style of play with his directness and pace on the counter-attack, as he could cause problems for a tired Sheffield United defence late on.
His disappointing performance against Coventry in the second leg of the semi-final, though, suggests that it may be too much of a gamble to play him from the start.
Minutes
120
Goals + assists
0
Successful dribbles
2/6
Pass accuracy
29% (2/7)
Duels won
6/18
Key passes
0
Possession lost
15x
As you can see in the table above, Mayenda played the full 120 minutes against the Sky Blues and only completed two passes, without creating any chances, and lost the vast majority of his duels.
This suggests that he could be a liability in the final from the start if he produced a similar kind of performance, as the Sheffield United players could find it too easy to beat him in duels and to intercept his passes.
Therefore, dropping him for Rigg, who has won 47% of his duels and completed 79% of his passes in the Championship, could increase Sunderland’s chances of being solid from the start.
Le Bris would then have the option to bring Mayenda’s pace off the bench to make an impact late on, by taking Rigg off to play the Frenchman in a front two with Isidor, which is why this could be a good tactical move for multiple reasons.
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