Sunderland got their early Championship season back on track with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Middlesbrough last time out after surprisingly coming unstuck against Plymouth Argyle the match before.
That now means Regis Le Bris’ Black Cats have picked up five league wins from a possible six, with a trip to face Tom Cleverley’s Watford up next for the Wearside outfit in the second tier.
The popular Frenchman now occupying the Stadium of Light dug-out will continue to keep picking Romaine Mundle and Eliezer Mayenda in the games to come, having managed to get a tune out of the raw attacking pair since his arrival to England, when other Black Cats bosses hadn’t.
Mundle & Mayenda's form this season
Both Mundle and Mayenda weren’t exactly first-team figures for Sunderland last season, with Mayenda failing to score a single goal across the full campaign as a reserve option up top, whilst Mundle only managed five league starts after joining in January from Standard Liege.
Now, however, they are both taking the Championship by storm, with a combined seven goals and assists managed between them, which included Mundle powering home a strike against Portsmouth last month after being played into space by his attacking teammate.
Both standout performers took a backseat last match against Michael Carrick’s Boro, however, as 17-year-old Chris Rigg basked in the limelight with a clever finish to win the even clash by a solitary goal.
But, it’s very unlikely that either will be dropped for the trip to Vicarage Road this coming weekend with the players in question yet to be absent from a league clash so far this campaign.
Whilst Le Bris will be delighted with the continued efforts of his exciting duo up top, Sunderland are currently being kept off the top spot in the division courtesy of a former youth product’s exploits for West Bromwich Albion.
Maja's form for West Brom
Josh Maja will be remembered fondly at the Stadium of Light as a promising youngster who showed off his ability to be an ice-cold finisher when chucked into the first team.
When Sunderland were swamped in League One, the former Black Cats man was a bright spark that managed to break through the doom and gloom.
He netted a stunning 15 goals from 24 third tier contests during the 2018/19 campaign, before a bumper £3.5m move to French side Bordeaux then materialised.
Games played
6
Goals scored
6
Assists
1
Shots per game
2.8
Scoring frequency
81 mins
Goal conversion %
35%
Big chances missed
4
Sunderland must rue losing the now 25-year-old during the infancy of his playing days even more when you take into account his blistering form for West Brom so far this campaign, with a ridiculous six strikes coming his way from as many games as Corberan’s main man up top.
The 5 foot 11 menace is outscoring both Mundle and Mayenda in the league as a result – who have amassed five league strikes between them – with the former Bordeaux man looking to be an absolute steal for the promotion-chasing Baggies now, who managed to get him in on a free transfer last year.
Of course, strikers are bound to experience a barren patch of form across a full league season, with Le Bris hopeful that Maja’s rich vein of form will dry up soon alongside West Brom then dropping off the top of the table.
At the moment, however, it looks as if everything Maja touches turns to gold, as Sunderland and West Brom continue to battle it out to be the early Championship top dogs.
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