NORWICH, ENGLAND - APRIL 8: Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris walks on the pitch prior to the Sky Bet Championship match between Norwich City FC and Sunderland AFC at Carrow Road on April 8, 2025 in Norwich, England. (Photo by Ian Horrocks/Sunderland AFC via Getty Images)
Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris is suffering a catch-22 situation ahead of 2024/25 Championship play-offs
Sunderland find themselves in a state of limbo with their Championship play-off place being confirmed with five games to go in the regular campaign.
Sunderland guaranteed themselves a spot in the Championship play-off places with five games to spare after their 0-0 draw at Norwich on Tuesday evening.
Regis Le Bris’ side were surprising early title candidates in the opening stages of the season, enjoying a remarkable rise from last season’s 16th-finish to dominating the Championship summit for several weeks.
Despite staying in solid form since the turn of the year, the Black Cats have lost ground on title contenders Burnley, Leeds United and Sheffield United.
Sunderland have been rooted to fourth-place for a number of weeks and head coach Le Bris finds himself in a catch-22 dilemma ahead of Saturday’s home clash against Swansea City.
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Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris in catch-22 situation ahead of Swansea clash
Le Bris’ Sunderland catch-22 situation derives from the make-up of the current Championship table.
The Black Cats, ahead of Saturday afternoon’s round of fixtures, currently enjoy an impressive 14-point buffer between themselves and sixth-placed Coventry. Above them, however, the title-contending Blades yield a nine-point advantage over the Wearsiders.
| Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Diff | Points |
| 1 |  Burnley |
42 | 24 | 16 | 2 | 57 | 13 | 44 | 88 |
| 2 |  Leeds |
41 | 24 | 13 | 4 | 80 | 28 | 52 | 85 |
| 3 |  Sheffield Utd |
41 | 26 | 7 | 8 | 56 | 31 | 25 | 83 |
| 4 |  Sunderland |
41 | 21 | 13 | 7 | 57 | 37 | 20 | 76 |
| 5 |  Bristol City |
41 | 16 | 15 | 10 | 53 | 44 | 9 | 63 |
| 6 |  Coventry |
41 | 18 | 8 | 15 | 58 | 53 | 5 | 62 |
With a play-off place secured mathematically and sneaking into the top two out of the realms of probability, Le Bris has a dilemma on his hands.
Does the Frenchman risk his best players getting injured during the remaining fixtures that are seemingly inconsequential ahead of the inevitable play-off campaign?
Or, does he rest his best players and have a guaranteed full squad for the play-off fixtures, at the behest of gaining some positive momentum?
Left-winger Romaine Mundle was forced off in the West Brom win with a recurrence of the hamstring injury that has limited his campaign to just 17 starts. Jobe Bellingham was also missing in the Canaries stalemate and Le Bris confirmed the Borussia-Dortmund linked midfielder will miss today’s Swansea clash.
Ahead of this weekend’s fixture, Le Bris told SAFC.com: The target for Romaine (Mundle) is the play-off period. He should be okay for then.
“Jobe (Bellingham) will miss tomorrow (today vs Swansea) to ensure he’s fresh and competitive for the last stage of the season.”
Bellingham has been one of the league’s best this season and is eerily similar to his older brother Jude in both playstyle and impact, having been an ever-present in Sunderland’s promotion push this season. The dynamic midfielder returning “fresh” for the play-offs will be imperative for the Black Cats boss.
Le Bris has also had to be cautious bedding back in Roma loanee Enzo Le Fee to the fold, amid the French maestro’s return from the Sunderland sidelines, with his presence certain to play a pivotal factor in the Black Cats’ play-off campaign.
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Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris must rest young stars before the 2024/25 Championship play-offs
As accustomed with the modern-day Sunderland philosophy, the bulk of their first-team regulars are comprised of young talent, with the Black Cats boding the youngest average squad age in the English Football League.
Bellingham along with Chris Rigg are two talismanic teenagers who have featured in virtually all of Sunderland’s Championship clashes this season.
The consensus on Wearside is that the top-two aspirations are insurmountable now, and as such the risk-to-reward ratio with starting key youngsters – such as Bellingham and Rigg – is too high in games that pale in comparison to the upcoming play-off clashes.
| Jobe Bellingham | Chris Rigg |
| Games played – 36 | Games played – 37 |
| Minutes played – 3,208 | Minutes played – 2,759 |
| Goals – 4 | Goals – 4 |
| Assists – 3 | Assists – 1 |
Building some positive momentum ahead of the play-offs is critical which places the Black Cats boss in a precarious situation.
Sunderland supporters would loathe to see their campaign, which started on such a hot streak, fizzle out ahead of the play-off campaign.
However, what would be the most sickening blow, would be losing a litany of their supreme, but youthful, talent for their season-defining fixtures ahead and Le Bris must act accordingly with his run-in selection.
