Sunderland to Rotate 9-10 Players! Championship Leaders and Premier League Clean-Sheet Kings Arrive, Are All Three Matches Traps Tonight?

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In the early hours of September 9 Beijing time, the third round of the EFL Cup, the sixth round of the Championship, and postponed matches from the third round of the Eredivisie will take place one after another. Data websites Whoscored and SportsMole have released their predictions in advance: Sunderland 1-1 or 1-2 Hull City, Southampton 1-1 Swansea, and NEC Nijmegen 1-1 or 1-2 SBV Excelsior. The key points of these three matches all revolve around the home teams' weaknesses.

First, Sunderland's match. Sunderland manager Le Bris has publicly stated that the team will rotate 9 to 10 players against Hull City in the League Cup. What does that mean? A team has only 11 starting players, and he plans to replace almost the entire lineup. Malik Fofana and Daijan Mettali are expected to make their first starts since joining Sunderland. Le Bris' exact words were: "This is a very good opportunity for players to get playing time in an official match." He added that this is much better than playing a friendly match.

Why make so many rotations? Because Sunderland will face Arsenal in the Premier League next and then begin their Europa League campaign against Dutch side AZ Alkmaar. In their eyes, the League Cup is a "training ground." This match comes only three days after their previous Premier League game, a 1-1 draw with Brentford. Kevin Danso made his debut against Brentford, while Fofana came off the bench for his first appearance. Mettali previously served a suspension while playing in France and is finally available now.

Now looking at Hull City. Their performance in the Premier League this season has been impressive — three matches, two wins and one draw, without conceding a goal. They have beaten Manchester United and Coventry City, and drawn with Aston Villa. Hull City became the third promoted team in Premier League history to keep clean sheets in each of their first three matches. With that defensive quality in the League Cup, facing an almost entirely new Sunderland reserve lineup, Hull City certainly have a good chance of earning a result.

The second match is Southampton against Swansea. In their last game away to League One champions Lincoln City, Wellington scored a spectacular 25-yard goal before halftime. Just when three points seemed secured, Lincoln City's substitute Mikel Ladford headed in an equalizer with three minutes remaining. Southampton had the majority of possession throughout the match but could not turn their advantage into a second goal. They have earned four points from their first five Championship matches. Players such as Cyriel Larin can create threats in attack, but finishing efficiency remains an issue.

Swansea are even more impressive — three wins and two draws from five Championship matches, sitting top of the table with 11 points. The key is their defense: they have conceded only one goal in five games. No team in the Championship has a better defensive record. However, Swansea were held to a 0-0 home draw by Wrexham last time out, showing that their attack does not always find a way through. This is a typical "spear and shield" battle — Southampton want to attack at home, while Swansea may sit deep away from home and wait.

The third match is NEC Nijmegen against SBV Excelsior, and it has the biggest contrast. NEC have played four Eredivisie matches this season, winning both away games and losing both home games. Their home defeats came against Telstar and Feyenoord. More troubling is the injury situation — Mor, Sandler, Kaplan, Van Veer, and Yasin Moslihi are all injured. Defenders, midfielders, and forwards are all missing. The team must also balance European competition, having just been eliminated from the Champions League qualifying rounds after losing 6-1 on aggregate to Bodo/Glimt and dropping into the Europa League. On September 17, they will travel to Turin to face Juventus. Nysimich's return from injury against Feyenoord, where he scored a fine volley, was one of the few positives.

SBV Excelsior are the opposite. They have won three of their four Eredivisie matches and sit fifth. Their strongest point is away form — two wins from two matches, scoring seven goals and conceding none. They beat Cambuur 4-0 and Willem II 3-0. Irakli Yegoian has scored two goals and provided three assists in the first four rounds, while Davey Garden has also scored twice. This team is full of confidence and is completely different from last season's relegation-threatened side. However, they also have injuries, with Jahanbakhsh and Naujoeks unavailable. Jahanbakhsh previously played for NEC, which would have made his return a talking point, but he is injured.

Three matches, three different scripts. Sunderland are voluntarily "giving up their strongest pieces," while Hull City arrive away from home with the Premier League's most reliable defense looking for an opportunity; Southampton want to overcome the toughest opponent in the Championship at home; NEC, poor at home, face a strong away team while dealing with many injuries and also thinking about their trip to Turin to play Juventus next week. Behind the score predictions from data websites are real form statistics and injury lists supporting each assessment.