Sunderland manager singles out Liverpool player for praise before crucial game

Regis Le Bris and Sunderland are one of the success stories of the Premier League season, but the Black Cats head coach admitted Liverpool offers a threat to the team's unbeaten home record

Regis Le Bris praised Hugo Ekitike ahead of Sunderland's game against Liverpool

Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris singled out Hugo Ekitike for praise ahead of Liverpool’s trip to the North-East on Wednesday.

The Reds head to the Stadium of Light for the first time in over nine years this week, and will hope to become the first visiting side to come away from Sunderland with three points this season. That would go some way to making up for last weekend’s disappointing loss to Manchester City.

The 2-1 defeat at Anfield saw the Reds fall four points behind the top five, and pressure is growing on Arne Slot to secure a Champions League place. The Dutchman admitted on Tuesday that failure to do so would be unacceptable.

But he will draw hope from Liverpool’s improvement prior to the City game, with the Reds scoring 10 across two games last week.

There were signs against Qarabag and Newcastle United that Liverpool’s attacking players are beginning to click and form offensive patterns.

Ekitike has benefited most from this. The former Eintracht Frankfurt man showed, even during the uninspiring early stages of the season, that he is a clinical finisher.

Now, with Liverpool offering more cutting-edge, Ekitike is thriving, having provided three goals and an assist in his last three appearances, in addition to 12 goal contributions in his last 13 matches.

Ekitike has been in excellent form in recent weeks(Image: Getty Images)

Le Bris acknowledged that threat when speaking ahead of the midweek Premier League encounter.

“They have quality players throughout the squad,” said the promotion-gaining coach. “We must defend and attack together.

“We know they have an attacking threat in [Hugo] Ekitike, but with belief, we can be confident.

“He’s doing well, really well. He’s a good player, really good player in France. It was really impressive that he struggled a bit through his journey and then found the good environment and the good level of experience now to be efficient in the Premier League.”

Le Bris said he feels Liverpool is improving

On Liverpool, Le Bris added: “I think they are getting better and they are strong.

“They have a few injuries, but their manager is really good. They are Liverpool and it's a must-win for them once again, so it will be a tough challenge. So it's an exciting challenge for us, but a tough one.”

The Sunderland boss also confirmed Noah Sadiki should be fit for Wednesday’s game, but Bertrand Traore is set for a few more weeks on the sidelines.