Brighton and Hove Albion captain Lewis Dunk is back at the heart of the Seagulls defence as they face Sunderland at the Stadium of Light this afternoon (Saturday 14 March).
The return of the skipper is one of four changes to the starting line up from the side that lost 1-0 to Arsenal at the Amex 10 days ago.
Danny Welbeck and James Milner are back, as is Yankuba Minteh, but Carlos Baleba and Kaoru Mitoma are out and Georginio Rutter and Olivier Boscagli are on the bench.
Welbeck scored six goals during a loan spell at Sunderland in 2010-11 while Minteh joined Albion from their north east rivals Newcastle United.
Jack Hinshelwood keeps his place, as do Pascal Gross and Diego Gomez, with Jan Paul van Hecke, Ferdi Kadioglu and Mats Wieffer at the back and Bart Verbruggen in goal.
The subs include Yasin Ayari, Maxim De Cuyper, Harry Howell and Solly March – but there’s no place for former young Black Cat hero Tom Watson.
The remaining subs are Matt O’Riley, Joel Veltman and Jason Steele.
While Brighton returned to winning ways last month, before the midweek defeat at home to the Gunners, Sunderland have had a bit of a dip in form.
And last weekend they went out of the FA Cup in the fifth round at Port Vale.
Brighton are 14th in the Premier League table, with 37 points from 29 games, while Sunderland are 11th, with 40 points from their 29 matches.
A win would move the Seagulls above the Black Cats on goal difference but Sunderland’s defence has been tight while Albion have struggled to turn possession and approach play into goals.
Brighton are favourites with the bookies and another win would help push them back into contention for a place in Europe rather than worrying about a late surge by the relegation battlers.
The kick-off is scheduled for 3pm.
