Sunderland return to action at the Stadium of Light once again as they welcome local rivals Middlesbrough to Wearside this afternoon.
The Black Cats are looking to build on their impressive run of six wins in their last seven Championship matches and head into the October international break within the play-off places.
Tony Mowbray's side are currently three points ahead of seventh-placed Norwich City and six points behind Ipswich Town, who occupy the second automatic promotion place.
However, they are now up against a Middlesbrough team that come into this match off the back of three successive wins; against Southampton, Watford, and Cardiff.
What's the latest Sunderland team news?
The Black Cats boss recently revealed that Alex Pritchard is a big doubt for today's clash with a calf strain, after the attacking midfielder missed out on the 2-0 win over the Hornets in midweek.
A number of other players, as confirmed by Mowbray prior to the clash with Watford, are also set to be unavailable for selection this evening.
Central midfielder Pierre Ekwah and midfielder Bradley Dack are both due to step up their respective recoveries during the upcoming international break, whilst Aji Alese and Eliezer Mayenda are also both working their way back to full fitness.
These injury issues have left the head coach with limited options to rotate his squad against Middlesbrough. However, he does still have some quality options who could be called upon to make an impact.
One player who must be unleashed from the start is former Ukraine U21 international Nazariy Rusyn, who could come in to replace Mason Burstow at the top end of the pitch.
How many goals has Mason Burstow scored this season?
The on-loan centre-forward is yet to open his goalscoring account for the Black Cats since his move from Chelsea during the summer transfer window.
Sunderland were dealt a huge blow for the 2023/24 campaign when they sold Scotland international Ross Stewart to Championship rivals Southampton.
The 27-year-old forward had scored ten goals and provided three assists in 13 league outings for the club at the start of last season, prior to his Achilles injury.
His exceptional form came after an impressive 2021/22 campaign at League One level. Stewart racked up 26 goals and three assists in 49 matches to help the team earn promotion back to the second tier.
The former Ross County marksman proved himself to be a reliable scoring option for Alex Neil and Mowbray throughout his time at the Stadium of Light.
Kristjaan Speakman needed to replace that attacking spark during the summer, particularly after last season's top scorer Amad Diallo – with 14 league goals – returned to Manchester United,
However, the Sunderland sporting director's move to sign Burstow from Chelsea on a temporary basis has not paid off as of yet as the striker has struggled to find his feet in front of goal.
How many shots has Burstow had for Sunderland?
The 20-year-old marksman has had five shots in five Championship appearances for the Black Cats since his switch to Wearside on loan.
He has registered zero goals and one assist in those matches and averaged a Sofasore rating of 6.72 for his performances, which is the 18th-highest score within the squad.
The young gem's lack of physicality has been an issue for him so far as opposition defenders have found it far too easy to get the better of him at times.
Burstow has lost a staggering 79% of his ground duels and 80% of his aerial battles in the second tier, as per Sofascore, for Sunderland this season.
This shows that his opponents have been able to dominate him, on the deck and in the air, in matches, and this may have contributed to his lack of success at the top end of the pitch as he has been unable to beat off competition from a defender to get a chance in front of goal.
His form for Mowbray's side comes after a return of ten goals in 25 Premier League 2 clashes for Chelsea's U21 team last season, which followed on from two goals in 16 League One outings on loan with Charlton during the 2021/22 campaign.
How many goals did Rusyn score for Zorya?
Sunderland swooped to sign Rusyn from Zorya on a permanent deal in the summer after the 24-year-old whiz scored 21 goals in 49 matches for his former club.
The Ukrainian ace produced 13 goals and six assists in 30 league matches throughout the 2022/23 season, and followed that up with one goal in two outings this term before his switch to England.
Whereas, no current Sunderland player managed more than Jack Clarke's tally of nine Championship strikes last season and only Diallo (14) scored more than him in total.
These statistics suggest that the potential is there for him to be an excellent scoring option for the club if the talented youngster can translate that form over to English football.
However, Rusyn is yet to make his full debut for the Black Cats as he has only been called upon as a substitute on three occasions so far, with an average of eight minutes per appearance.
The summer signing did, though, play 70 minutes for the club's U21 side in a recent 3-1 win over Derby County and caught the eye with an impressive display.
U21 coach John Hewitson hailed Rusyn as a forward with "genuine pace" as the former Zorya star won a penalty and registered an assist throughout his time on the pitch.
Mowbray should now look to unleash the Ukrainian ace for the first time from the start this afternoon against Middlesbrough to see if he can translate his form from his home country over to the Championship.
Burstow has struggled to offer much as a goalscoring threat or as a physical outlet at the top end of the pitch and Rusyn's scoring record and pace could provide the team with a different option in the final third to cause problems for Boro.
Therefore, Sunderland could benefit from moving the on-loan Chelsea forward out of the way for the 5 foot 10 finisher to announce himself to the crowd at the Stadium of Light with his full debut today.