Sunderland are set to be without striker Marc McNulty for thier trip to Rochdale tomorrow night, as reported by James Hunter of the Chronicle.
The Black Cats got their season up and running this weekend with a 2-1 victory against old adversaries Portsmouth. They fell behind to an early Marcus Harness goal, but struck back through Jordan Willis and Chris Maguire.
That ensured they remained unbeaten in their opening three games, with two draws coming before their victory. It was a huge match for Jack Ross who needed a positive result and got one.
He shuffled the pack a little, going back to the tried and tested 4-2-3-1 formation with Marc McNulty at the tip of the attack. The on-loan Reading man has been in good form, but he’s now set to miss out against Rochdale tomorrow evening.
McNulty has suffered a hamstring problem and was replaced by Charlie Wyke on 49 minutes of this weekend’s account.
It will be either Wyke or Grigg who replaces him tomorrow, but both players struggled for form last season.
Our View
This is a big blow for Sunderland. McNulty has looked convincing in his opening matches and seems to fit the 4-2-3-1 formation well, with Chris Maguire driving forward to make it more like a 4-4-2 at times.
They should still have enough to get the better of Rochdale, but Brian Barry-Murphy’s men are no slouches at the back, holding Shrewsbury at the weekend and keeping a clean sheet. It’ll be an interesting opportunity for whoever replaces McNulty.
