Sunderland make seven changes as bottom-two sides name teams

Sunderland have made seven changes to their starting XI for Sunday’s meeting with Bournemouth, a match between the Premier League’s 18th- and 19th-placed sides. Sunderland have four points after six games; Bournemouth have three, and both teams have a goal difference of minus six.

Chris Rigg, Dayann Methalie and Malick Fofana are among the players brought into Sunderland’s 4-2-3-1. Robin Roefs starts in goal, behind a defence of Trai Hume, Luke O’Nien, Omar Alderete and Methalie. Jules Ahoka and Noah Sadiki form the midfield base, with Nilson Angulo, Rigg and Fofana behind striker Timur Tuterov.

Enzo Le Fée, Granit Xhaka, Kevin Danso, Nordi Mukiele, Reinildo Mandava, Thomas Meunier and Wilson Isidor drop out of the side that faced Brighton. The seven changes make this a substantially altered Sunderland XI for a fixture in which the teams are separated by just one point.

Bournemouth have made five changes from their last league match, against Chelsea. Their 4-4-2 has Đorđe Petrović in goal, with Adam Smith, Bafodé Diakité, António Silva and Julio Soler in defence. Ben Gannon-Doak, Lewis Cook, Tyler Adams and Marcus Tavernier make up the midfield, with Evanilson and Álvaro Rodriguez up front.

Diakité, Gannon-Doak, Soler, Cook and Rodriguez come into the Bournemouth side. Adrien Truffert, David Brooks, James Hill, Rayan and Ryan Christie are out of the starting XI.

The teams meet at Bournemouth on Sunday, 18 October, with kick-off at 14:00 BST. With both sides level on goal difference and only one point between them, the result offers an immediate chance for either to gain ground on a close rival near the foot of the table.