Sunderland AFC: Luke O'Nien tipped to be dropped from starting XI for "brick wall" partnership | OneFootball

The Black Cats have three top Championship centre-backs at their disposal for the season ahead

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Sunderland continue to be one of the early pace-setters in the 24/25 Championship season, with Saturday’s victory over Middlesbrough continuing their strong start to the campaign.

Chris Rigg scored the only goal of the game as the Black Cats got the better of their north east neighbours at the Stadium of Light, with Regis Le Bris steering his side to a fifth in six matches.

Much of that strong start has been down to a defence that has conceded just four times in those six outings so far, with Chris Mepham, Dan Ballard and Luke O’Nien all sharing defensive duties, as well as Aji Alese.

With Le Bris continuing to swap and change his centre back pairing, we spoke to Football League World’s Sunderland fan pundit Eddy Bamber about his thoughts on his side’s preferred line up in the backline.

Dan Ballard fitness claim made as Regis Le Bris switches up Sunderland defensive lineup

The clash with Boro marked Mepham’s Sunderland debut at the weekend, with the Welshman making his bow after joining on loan from AFC Bournemouth for the season ahead.

The experienced campaigner took to the task expertly on the biggest of occasions, with his partnership with O’Nien looking instinctive right from the off at the Stadium of Light.

The 26-year-old came into the fold to replace Ballard, who was seen leaving Home Park on crutches the weekend before following a 3-2 defeat to Plymouth Argyle.

Having missed the start of the campaign after picking up an injury in a pre-season friendly against South Shields, Ballard has already had minor knee surgery in the past few months, which has limited his game time so far this season.

With that in mind, Bamber believes the introduction of Mepham can help the former Arsenal man take some much-needed time to recuperate before being thrown back into the action.

Eddy told FLW: “I think Mepham and Ballard have the potential to be the best partnership that Sunderland have got in the centre back positions.

“However, because of Dan Ballard’s injuries, I think he has always been rushed back because we haven’t had that option to replace him.

“Now that we have got Mepham and Luke O’Nien is doing such a fantastic job, we have now got that freedom to rest Ballard and give him the suitable time to recover so he can actually come back 100%

“I would rest Ballard for the time being, maybe bring him on as a sub the way we did on Saturday, and that way we can ease him back, rather than force him back.

“Then he can be 100% for what I think will be the first time since he has been at Sunderland.”

Luke O'Nien tipped to be dropped by Regis Le Bris in favour of Ballard & Mepham partnership

While Ballard continued to wrestle his own injury concerns for the time being, O’Nien is a more than capable performer in the Black Cats’ backline, as he continues to lead by example with his showings in defence.

While he is capable of playing almost anywhere across the backline, as well as in midfield, the former Wycombe Wanderers man has made the centre-back spot his own of late, with the 29-year-old yet to miss a minute of Championship action this season.

That versatility may be called into effect later in the campaign though, with Bamber tipping Mepham and Ballard to be the first choice pairing when both are ready and available for selection.

He continued: “When Ballard is finally 100 per cent, we can finally give him and Mepham a go, and that has got the potential to be a brick wall.

“As much of a shame as it seems to be to drop O’Nien, he can play anywhere, so there is going to be some position that he can cover at some point this season.

“So, just because O’Nien becomes the third-choice centre-back, doesn’t necessarily mean he is going to be out of the squad.

“But it is a great problem to have wondering which centre-back is going to play, because it has been a while since we have had three quality centre backs.”