Sunderland need not fear going into tonight's FA Cup replay against Fulham without a specialist striker, according to boss Tony Mowbray. The Black Cats take on the Premier League high-fliers at the Stadium of Light this evening after the initial fourth round meeting at Craven Cottage ten days ago ended in a 1-1 draw, with the winners earning a home tie against Leeds United in the last 16.
Mowbray has no out-and-out centre-forward to call upon, with top scorer Ross Stewart suffering a season-ending Achilles injury at the Cottage while on-loan Leeds striker Joe Gelhardt is cup-tied. But he takes heart from the fact that, even after Stewart had gone off at Fulham, Sunderland created a series of chances against Marco Silva's men on a day when the attacking triumvirate of Amad, Patrick Roberts, and Jack Clarke came to the fore.
Sunderland will likely rely on them for goals tonight, although fit-again midfielder Alex Pritchard - who played as a false nine earlier in the season - may also come into the equation after he made his comeback from a calf injury as a sub in Saturday's league draw at Millwall. "I think it's a given that we give everything we have got in every game, and we are on the front foot trying to play positive, possession-based football," said Mowbray.
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"It's not always easy to play possession-based football against a top Premier League side, but the positive for me from the first game is that we tried to be positive and play through them, not just kick it down the pich and look for scraps. I thought we were really progressive with the ball in the first game, and yet we felt their quality when they had the ball.
"The positive for me was that we threatened their goal and could actually get through them by being brave and playing with Patrick and playing with Amad and Jack. It was frustrating when Ross came off for us because we lost that real cutting edge at the top end of the pitch that can score a goal out of nothing.
"But it was the attitude of the team more than any individual players that was the positive on the day. We played without fear.
"The fact we got a goal, of course, gave us something to hang on to. If we'd been a goal or two down, sometimes it can be more difficult to believe in playing on the front foot and getting after the ball.
"We'll try and be aggressive right from the off and get the first goal so we have something to cling to, and hopefully we will have a really good evening."
Sunderland will be able to call upon the versatile Luke O'Nien this evening now he has served a three-match ban following his red card against Swansea City last month. But new signings Isaac Lihadji and Joe Anderson will not be involved because they were not eligible for the initial tie.
Should Sunderland progress, however, former Lille forward Lihadji and ex-Everton defender Anderson would be able to play in the next round against Leeds.
Defender Dennis Cirkin is also unable to play this evening as he must follow the concussion protocols after being knocked out as he scored Sunderland's equaliser at Millwall at the weekend.
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