Burnley team news revealed ahead of Sunderland as Vincent Kompany makes admission - striker out

Sunderland play Burnley when the Championship restarts following the international break, on Friday March 31.

Speaking to the Burnley Express ahead of the game, Vincent Kompany said: "What I would like to see now is a full squad to give me difficult decisions to make, and that usually gives you an extra boost because there's so much competition."

Young Lions skipper, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, is in contention to be in the 18-man squad to face Sunderland after being out with injury since January.

Winger Manuel Benson is another member of Kompany’s squad who has seen injury struck and featured periodically before the international break. The Belgian has missed 11 games across all competitions this season.

North Macedonia ace Darko Churlinov has recovered from illness and scored in his country’s 2-1 win over Malta last Thursday. However, Burnley will be without veteran striker Jay Rodriguez for Sunderland’s visit.

With such an array of talent to choose from but only 11 positions to fill on the pitch, Kompany admits that it might be difficult to keep every player happy.

"It can go both ways; it could go very wrong or it could create healthy habits,’’ the former Manchester City and Belgium defender said.

Tony Mowbray on the other hand has a far thinner squad to work with, and the injury Dan Ballard sustained against Finland for Northern Ireland is another concern for the Black Cats boss coming into the Championship restart.

Kompany’s squad has a lot of competition for places and coming into the business end of the season, everyone will play their part as they look to clinch the title.

"I'd rather have a team of guys who are at a similar level and compete with each other than three/four/five positions who know they'll start whether they've trained well or not,’’ Kompany concludes.

Sunderland’s chances of a play-off spot now seem remote but Mowbray will be hoping his young Sunderland side can finish the season strongly, starting with Burnley on Friday evening.