2 dilemmas Lee Johnson has at Sunderland ahead of Oxford United clash | OneFootball

Sunderland will be looking to give their League One promotion hopes a boost on Saturday afternoon, as they host Oxford United at The Stadium of Light.

The Black Cats go into this game fifth in the third-tier standings, three points adrift of an automatic promotion spot, and are unbeaten in their last three league games.

However, with Oxford themselves eighth in the table and chasing a play-off place, this is unlikely to be an easy task for Sunderland.

So with that in mind, we’ve taken a look at two dilemmas facing Sunderland manager Lee Johnson, ahead of this game.

It is fair to say that injuries have not been helpful to Sunderland’s cause recently, with a number of senior players still on the sidelines.

Two that they could have back however, are striker Leon Dajaku, and midfielder Elliot Embleton, who both returned from injury in the Black Cats’ EFL Trophy defeat to Oldham in midweek.

The duo both played the first half of that game, a before being withdrawn as planned at half time, and Johnson now has the task of deciding whether to use them in the against Oxford. That decision however, will not be easy, given the below par performance produced by his side in that defeat to the Latics – who are struggling at the wrong end of League Two – on Wednesday night.

The pressure to take advantage

It is hard not to feel as though the way the schedule has worked out here, has handed Sunderland an opportunity to take advantage in the league table this afternoon.

With every other side in the top seven of the standings out of league action this weekend due to the FA Cup, this match gives Sunderland a real opportunity to put a marker down in the race for an automatic promotion spot, and put the pressure on their rivals before they return to the business of the league.

But with that opportunity comes the expectation to take it, and Johnson will have to make sure his side remain fully focussed on the job in hand rather than the permutations in the table, to give them the best chance of claiming all three points here.