After making ten changes for the midweek EFL Trophy game against Oldham, Lee Johnson reverted to the same starting XI against Oxford that started at Cambridge a week ago.
Johnson had said on the eve of the game that he had 'a couple' of fresh injury doubts going into today's game but those problems evidently did not affect his starting line-up.
With the same starting XI, Sunderland were expected to play the same system as they did at Cambridge with Lynden Gooch and Leon Dajaku as wingbacks, and a back three of Tom Flanagan, Bailey Wright, and Callum Doyle.
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Lee Burge returned from injury to play in goal in the Trophy game in midweek, but Anthony Patterson was preferred to him on the bench today.
And Benji Kimpioka was named amongst the subs instead of Will Harris.
Frederik Alves played in the Trophy game but was not on the bench today.
Oxford boss Karl Robinson had to contend with a Covid outbreak in his squad last weekend which left him with only 13 fit outfielders to pick from against Rotherham, but against Sunderland he was able to bring back some of the players who had been isolating.
Robinson made four changes to the side that drew at home to the Millers, with Simon Eastwood replacing Connal Trueman in goal after the latter had returned to Birmingham following the end of his emergency loan stay.
Elliot Moore, Matty Taylor, and Anthony Forde were the other three players to come into the side, with Steve Seddon, Marcus McGuane, and Jamie Hanson making way.
Today's teams
Sunderland: Hoffmann, Gooch, Flanagan, Wright, Doyle, Dajaku, Winchester, Neil, Pritchard, Stewart, Broadhead
Subs: Patterson, Embleton, O'Brien, Younger, Dyce, Kimpioka, Johnson
Oxford United: Eastwood, Forde, Moore, McNally, Long, Henry, Kane, Brannagan, Whyte, Taylor, Holland
Subs: Plumley, Thorniley, Williams, Sykes, McGuane, Agyei, Bodin
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