Alex Neil hopes to deliver what Jack Ross couldn't in 2019 as Sunderland contest the League One play-off final against Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday afternoon. Sunderland came out victorious in their semi-final against Sheffield Wednesday after a late Patrick Roberts goal gave them a 2-1 victory on aggregate.
Meanwhile, Wycombe overcame MK Dons, who had only narrowly missed out on automatic promotion. The final is sure to be a clash of styles as Neil likes to play attacking, front-foot football and take the game to the opponents, whilst under Gareth Ainsworth, Wycombe have adopted a defence-first approach and it was a rear-guard action which saw them defeat MK Dons in the semi-final.
As such, Neil may need to be brave with his line-up choice in order to overcome Wycombe's tough defence. Sunderland fans have made their own suggestions for the starting XI for the final, using ChronicleLive's team selector.
Read more: Wembley is the place to win promotion says Sunderland boss Alex Neil, ahead of the play-off final
They have suggested both personnel changes from the semi-final win, as well as a formation change. Firstly, although Neil has utilised a 3-5-2 or a 3-4-1-2 for the last seven games, fans would like to see a 4-4-2 for the final.
That appears to be in order to fit Nathan Broadhead and Ross Stewart in advanced positions and allow the provider of the assist and the winning goalscorer in the semi-final - Jack Clarke and Roberts - to play higher up as wingers instead of wing-backs. Luke O'Nien and Corry Evans were the most popular combo in midfield, sitting in front of a defence of Dennis Cirkin, Bailey Wright, Danny Batth and Lynden Gooch, with Anthony Patterson in goal.
The big call here is dropping Alex Pritchard to the bench. The former Huddersfield and Norwich player had been injured in the latter part of the season but returned for the final few games and started both legs of the semi-final. Whilst he might not be on top form, he has provided nine assists this season so it would perhaps be a surprise to see him left out.
Fans' selected XI: Patterson, Gooch, Wright, Batth, Cirkin, Roberts, O'Nien, Evans, Clarke, Broadhead, Stewart
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