Sunderland will go into tonight's clash against Leeds United at Elland Road very much as the underdogs, even with Daniel Farke's Whites losing on the road to Coventry City 2-1 last time out.
The Black Cats are in far more rocky form than the promotion-chasing hosts, with the Wearside outfit only picking up just one win from their last ten Championship encounters. Of those ten underwhelming matches, seven have ended in the all-too-familiar feeling of defeat for Sunderland.
Yet, they could still pull off a shock result in West Yorkshire if they play on Leeds' nerves near the top end of the division and go for the game without any fear of their own creeping in.
Leo Hjelde could find himself out of Dodds' XI for the trip up to play Leeds regardless of his added motivation to beat the hosts having played for them up until January, with the new recruit wobbling last time out against Bristol City.
Leo Hjelde's performance vs Bristol City in numbers
Although Sunderland would manage to pick up a clean sheet and a share of the points against the Robins, which was much-needed after the humiliating 5-1 defeat to Blackburn Rovers prior, the Norwegian defender still struggled for large patches of the 0-0 contest.
Hjelde would fail to win a single duel in the stalemate versus Liam Manning's men, on top of losing possession a total of 11 times that could have been costly on another day if the away side had their shooting boots on.
In contrast, Trai Hume – playing on the opposite flank at right-back – would win seven duels and amass 95 touches of the ball as a constant threat from out wide.
Minutes played
66
Touches
44
Duels won
0/3
Accurate passes
25/32
Possession lost
11x
Managing just 44 touches when compared to Hume's impressive numbers, Hjelde's poor performance saw him receive a 5/10 rating from Roker Report journalist Andy Tomlinson who stated that the ex-Leeds man 'switched off' a couple of times in the game.
Dodds will need all of his players focused and ready for the mammoth task of upsetting Leeds on their own patch, with Aji Alese pushing for just his fourth Championship appearance of the season after impressing off the bench when replacing Hjelde last time out.
Aji Alese as Hjelde's replacement
Troubled with significant injury issues for the majority of this season, the former West Ham United youth product is very much in the reckoning for a start tonight after a standout cameo against the Robins.
From just 24 minutes of action, the injury-prone 23-year-old would win four duels and put in two tackles as a far more lively and energetic presence than Hjelde.
Putting pen to paper on a new long-term contract at the Stadium of Light recently too, Alese will just pray that his extensive layoffs in the Sunderland treatment room are over and done with and he can impress again in the first-team fold regularly.
Making 20 appearances in the second tier last season – with ex-Black Cats boss Tony Mowbray singling out the ex-Hammers defender as "amazing" when battling to be fit for a 2-0 win over Middlesbrough at the start of last year – Alese will feel he can make that left-back spot his own again in the weeks to come if he can play a big role in Sunderland shocking Leeds at Elland Road tonight.
Sunderland will be very much expected to roll over for Leeds to return to winning ways, but with the twists and turns the Championship can offer up, the Black Cats could fancy unsettling the hosts further.
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