Phil Parkinson made just one personnel change to the side that started the weekend win at Swindon Town.
Jordan Willis limped out of that game midway through the first half with a badly bruised foot and had been ruled out tonight, and
Denver Hume came back into the team after recovering from the knee problem that kept him out on Saturday.
That meant there was a defensive reshuffle, with Conor McLaughlin staying on the right side of the back three after moving there when Willis went off.
And with Hume reclaiming his left wingback role, Lynden Gooch switched flanks to the right – the position that McLaughlin had originally occupied at the County Ground.
On the bench, Tom Flanagan was a surprise inclusion given that he reported back from international duty with an ankle injury and he saw a specialist on Monday evening, but Parkinson will be relieved there was no serious damage.
Crewe boss David Artell also made one change, in his case to the side that drew 1-1 at home to Blackpool at the weekend.
He brought Oli Finney into the starting line-up in place of Callum Ainley.
You can follow all the action in our live match blog right here.
Tonight's teams
Sunderland: Burge, McLaughlin, Wright, O’Nien, Gooch, Scowen, Leadbitter, Power, Hume, Maguire, Wyke
Subs: Matthews, Flanagan, Dobson, O’Brien, Graham, Diamond, Grigg.
Crewe: Jaaskelainen, Ng, Pickering, Wintle, Powell, Kirk, Mandron, Finney, Offord, Murphy, Beckles.
Subs: Richards, Lowery, Porter, Ainley, Zanzala, Dale, Johnson
