Sunderland: A magician making £7k per week might now take the place of Ekwah.

Sunderland: A magician making £7k per week might now take the place of Ekwah.

Pierre Ekwah’s injury against QPR is a major setback because of how outstanding he has been this season.

With 72% possession and 22 shots on goal, Sunderland’s dominating display against Queens Park Rangers demonstrated their possession-based aggressive style of play.
Sunderland would suffer a big loss if midfielder Pierre Ekwah is out injured since he has developed into a key member of their midfield with excellent physical and technical skills.
Alex Pritchard, who offers flair to the club but lacks the same energising and strong performances, will likely take Ekwah’s spot against Blackburn. This might make it more difficult for Sunderland to dominate the midfield physical struggle.

With a convincing 3-1 victory over Queens Park Rangers on Saturday, Sunderland resumed their ascent up the Championship standings.

According to Sofascore, the Black Cats had 72% possession, 407 more accurate passes, 22 shots on goal, and an xG of 2.78 as a result of Tony Mowbray’s possession-based yet deliberate attacking play, which the hosts had to contend with.

Sunderland will be confident of winning at Blackburn on Wednesday night after a relentless and dominant performance at the Kiyan Prince Foundation stadium that came before a 5-0 hammering of one of the favourites, Southampton.

It’s a common adage to stick with a winning team, but Mowbray will have to defy this convention when midfielder Pierre Ekwah was substituted in the 14th minute with a dead leg.

What kind of season has Pierre Ekwah had?
Ekwah, who appeared 14 times for Sunderland in the Championship last year in a bit-part role, has grown into a crucial component of Mowbray’s system this year.

The 21-year-old, who was one of the first names on the teammate sheet, has now established an essential combination with fellow youngster Dan Neil at the centre of the Black Cats’ midfield, praising the Frenchman’s highly sought-after physical and technical qualities when previously questioned about him.

Yeah, excellent, Neil said. He has a terrific left foot, is dynamic, and is quite strong.

He has performed superbly in training over the past few weeks, and I told him that his performance merited a shot.

“This was his chance, and I believe he took it, with the foreign boys gone, Ed playing on Tuesday, and it being a quick turnaround for him. I considered him to be brilliant.

Ekwah has appeared in all of Sunderland’s games so far and has made an excellent impression since being given frequent chances to shine. He has averaged 7.3 ball recoveries per game, 1.7 tackles, a pass completion rate of 90%, according to Sofascore, and even scored two well-taken goals in the win over Southampton.

Mowbray is optimistic that he might be in shape before their trip to Ewood Park, even if it seems doubtful. So, without a direct substitute for his strength, power, and all-action displays, Sunderland will terribly miss the 6 foot 2 titans presence in the engine room, leaving Mowbray with a difficult choice.

Who could take Pierre Ekwah’s position against Blackburn?

In his pre-game interview, Mowbray acknowledged that his team had suffered two injuries, losing Bradley Dack and Ekwah, two of their most important players.

While Jobe Bellingham may carry on in his advanced midfield position without Dack, it is considerably more difficult to choose someone to play in the double pivot, with Alex Pritchard being the most likely candidate.

According to Sofascore, the 30-year-old played admirably against QPR after replacing Ekwah, completing 86% of his passes successfully, crossing eight times, blocking two shots, and making two tackles.

Pritchard is more well-known for his inventiveness than for the vivacious and robust performances of Ekwah, but he can still keep things tidy in that deep-lying role while leaving Neil to handle the grunt work, unless Bellingham steps down and allows the former to operate more advanced.

By ranking in the top 20% for progressive passes, the best 16% for assists, the highest 5% for shot-creating actions, and the top 5% for key passes when compared to his positional peers per 90, the £7k per week Prichard demonstrated in the Championship last season what a crucial impact he can have in the final third.

He will be a threat on the counter-attack if he can bring those inventive numbers to the table against Blackburn, but without Ekwah’s dynamism and intensity, they risk losing the physical struggle against players like Lewis Travis and Adam Wharton.