Fit-again striker Charlie Wyke aiming to shine at the Stadium of Light

? Returning stars could get Black Cats purring
A huge Boxing Day crowd saw Sunderland beat Bradford 1-0 at the Stadium of Light and the Sky Bet League One promotion contenders should have more strength in depth over the weeks to come.

Striker Charlie Wyke made a late substitute appearance against his old club and will be raring to go after being restricted to just one league start since his summer move to Sunderland.

Josh Maja was able to start against Bradford after missing the pre-Christmas defeat at Portsmouth through illness and defender Tom Flanagan also returned to the starting line-up on Wednesday.

Black Cats boss Jack Ross is hoping that George Honeyman and Adam Matthews will be fit enough to feature at some point in the home game against Shrewsbury.

? Preston light up front for clash with Villa
Preston boss Alex Neil has had a miserable season with injuries and he is short of attacking options going into their Sky Bet Championship fixture against Aston Villa at Deepdale.

Louis Moult’s hamstring problem left 20-year-old Manchester City loanee Lukas Nmecha to lead the line in Wednesday’s 2-1 home defeat to Hull.

Teenage forwards Connor Simpson and Ethan Walker were on the bench for North End, who also lost defender Ben Davies to injury in the first half.

? Test of mettle for weakened Iron squad
Not much has gone right for Scunthorpe this term and the Sky Bet League One side could be missing a host of important players for the next couple of months.

Matt Gilks and Rory Watson have been out with long-term problems and Ryan Colclough’s season is over after a cruciate ligament injury.

Forward Josh Morris (fractured fibula) and midfielder Matthew Lund (degenerative bone condition) are sidelined and defender Jordan Clarke could miss the next three months.

Stuart McCall named only six substitutes on the bench for the defeat to Luton last time out and his depleted side are hoping to avoid an eighth straight loss when they take on Wycombe.

? Blair battling back for depleted Donny
Doncaster are hopeful that Matty Blair recovers from illness in time for their trip to Gillingham as he is needed to fill in at right-back.
Shaun Cummings went off injured at Fleetwood, joining fellow full-back Niall Mason (toe) on the sidelines so midfielder Herbie Kane was forced to play at the back.

Doncaster manager Grant McCann said after the game: “We had to juggle it around a bit and put our best attacking midfielder at right-back which was frustrating.

“Matty Blair should be back [for the Gillingham game]. He wasn’t too bad but we just didn’t want anything spreading so we sent him home from the hotel on Wednesday morning.”

? Dons defence is down in the dumps
MK Dons boss Paul Tisdale is eager to bring in defensive reinforcements when the January transfer window opens but the League Two title contenders will have to field a makeshift back four on their trip to Northampton.

Joe Walsh and Jordan Moore-Taylor remain sidelined so midfielder Jordan Houghton may have to fill in at the back again, as he did in Wednesday’s 3-1 defeat at Cheltenham.

GAFFER TRACKER
Jose Gomes Reading

Wolves won the Sky Bet Championship last season under a Portuguese manager but Nuno Espirito Santo’s compatriot Jose Gomes has a far lower target at his new club Reading.

The well-travelled Gomes has managed in Hungary, the UAE and Saudi Arabia and been assistant at Porto, Malaga and Panathinaikos before a brief spell in charge of Rio Ave this year.

His former side lost only one of their first nine games in the 2018-19 Primeira Liga but recent results have been poor and Gomes rarely stays at one club for long – only once in his career has he managed more than 50 games in one spell.

He worked as a fitness coach before starting out on the path to management so the relegation-threatened Royals can expect some intensive training sessions.

A ninth-minute red card scuppered Reading’s chances in his first game at Millwall (see Team in Focus) but his CV doesn’t suggest he will be an instant hit in Berkshire.

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