Chris Rigg was dropped by Sunderland against West Brom, and the team, XI, and injury news were predicted.

On Saturday, Sunderland travels to West Brom in the Championship.

Sunderland is back on the road, and they will be playing Championship opponents ranked in the top six.

Mike Dodds will need to have the same mindset this weekend at West Brom as he had the last time out, when he watched as his team gained a respectable point in an away draw at Leeds United.

With just one loss in their previous 13 Championship games, the Baggies are presently in fifth place in the standings.

While Sunderland has only lost once in their previous five games, they have also kept four clean sheets throughout that period.

Sunderland is concerned about a few injuries ahead of their trip to The Hawthorns.

Corry Evans is still iffy despite having another minor injury setback during training; a return this season is yet possible.

Nazariy Rusyn is still out due to a calf injury, and Dennis Cirkin is perhaps getting too close to playing again for the West Brom match.

Long-term knee ailments have kept Jenson Seelt and Niall Huggins out of action, and Elliot Embleton is another longer-term casualty.

How will Mike Dodds line up against West Brom

Dodds had good success with a back-five formation against Leeds United, so we could expect to see the same formation against an equally strong opposition on Saturday.

At left and right wing-back, respectively, Timothee Pembele and Callum Styles made an impact, while Dan Neil excelled in the midfield.

Whether or not Dodds gives 16-year-old Chris Rigg another start might be a major topic of discussion.

He has started the last two games but was substituted off just after the hour mark in each. Dodds may decide to reintroduce Romaine Mundle into the starting lineup in an effort to limit the young player’s exposure.

With the exception of that one possible alteration, we anticipate seeing the same Sunderland starting lineup against West Brom.

Patterson (GK)

Styles

O’Nien

Ballard

Hume

Pembele

Neil

Ekwah

Clarke

Mundle

Bellingham