How Regis Le Bris has tried to address worrying Sunderland statistic, it could be crucial in the play-offs

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Sunderland head to Coventry City in the first leg of their Championship play-off semi-final, and Regis Le Bris has already tried to address one worrying statistic ahead of the clashes.

In the 46-game campaign, Sunderland spent the majority of their time in fourth position, rarely ever in danger of dropping out of the top six, but also not good enough to challenge for the top two.

This worked against Regis Le Bris‘ side as they knew they were in the Championship play-offs for weeks, with their form curtailing as a result.

Although play-off fixtures are never decided by form, supporters are worried ahead of their trip to the CBS Arena as the Black Cats have lost their last five league games.

But, with the quality at Le Bris’ disposal, Sunderland need to erase form out of their minds and go into the clash against Coventry with the confidence of securing a result.

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Regis Le Bris says Sunderland have been working on penalties

Ahead of the showdown on Friday night, EFL expert Sam Parkin predicted Coventry to beat Sunderland 1-0.

Parkin is expecting a nervy and tightly fought contest, although that was anything but in March, as a Haji Wright hat-trick saw Coventry defeat Sunderland.

The North East giants have a poor recent record against the Sky Blues, and that is also the case from the penalty spot, with Le Bris’ men missing four of their last five penalties.

With the possibility of this tie heading to penalties, the Frenchman claims that Sunderland have been practising spot kicks for the past month, something that has been their Achilles heel all season.

“Two years ago, at Luton, the backline wasn’t the backline expected to face this kind of challenge. So, this was our main idea and now, we have, more or less, a full squad. I think this is a big positive for us,” Le Bris said via the Northern Echo.

“After that, the penalty shoot-out. It was clear that it would be important to us to train this part of the game. Especially for us as, this season, we have struggled, so we started to work on this around a month ago.”

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Who should take Sunderland’s next penalty?

Patrick Roberts, Wilson Isidor, and Luke O’Nien have all missed penalties this term, raising doubts over who should take the next one.

Realistically, Sunderland should have a set penalty taker, someone they feel confident enough in to handle the pressure and convert from 12 yards.

The problem is, the Black Cats are one of the youngest teams in the division and most of their forwards lack experience in taking penalties.

Although Isidor has missed twice from the spot, he has scored 12 Championship goals, and finally breaking his duck from the spot would be a huge confidence boost.

That is why he should step up if Sunderland win a penalty in the play-offs and prove why he deserves to take them.