Sunderland have a chance to secure their place in the Championship play-off final tonight as they travel away to face Luton Town in the second leg of the semi-finals.

The Black Cats are still in with a shot of back-to-back promotions, after battling their way out of the third tier in 2021/22, and are in a strong position heading into the match this evening.

Tony Mowbray's side are 2-1 up on aggregate after their win against the Hatters at the Stadium of Light on Saturday. They came from 1-0 down to secure the victory with goals from Amad Diallo and Trai Hume completing the comeback.

How will Sunderland line up against Luton?

The head coach could be forced into making a couple of changes to his starting XI for this clash as Alex Pritchard and Patrick Roberts are both injury doubts.

Ahead of the game, Mowbray provided an update on the pair's fitness, saying:

"They both might make it, they both might not. So it will depend on the reaction [for the player has trained], the other is saying that they think in 24 hours it will be better, so we will see if that is the case."

Anthony Patterson could retain his place between the sticks and the manager could go with a back three of Trai Hume, Luke O'Nien and Lynden Gooch.

However, there could be a change at wing-back if Roberts is unavailable for selection and this would open up the door for Niall Huggins to start on the right.

The 22-year-old, who journalist Josh Bunting once lauded as a "stunning" signing, came on to replace the ex-Manchester City man on Saturday.

Earlier this season, the gem made three tackles and interceptions combined and four clearances in his only Championship start of the campaign against Birmingham - winning 50% of his ground duels.

Whilst he may not have the offensive impact that Roberts - who scored five goals and made ten assists in the league - provides, his stats in that clash with John Eustace's side highlight his defensive nous to make vital interventions to keep the opposition out.

Elsewhere in midfield, Abdoullah Ba could replace Alex Pritchard and play alongside Dan Neil and Pierre Ekwah, with Jack Clarke lining up at left wing-back.

Football FanCast published an article explaining why the Frenchman's defensive quality - winning 64% of his aerial battles in the second tier and being able to deal with any long ball threats from Luton - makes him an ideal choice for that position in the middle of the park.

This would then leave Amad Diallo and Joe Gelhardt retaining their places at the top end of the pitch as Sunderland attempt to make their way to Wembley.

Predicted Sunderland XI (3-5-2): Patterson; Hume, O'Nien, Gooch; Huggins, Neil, Ba, Ekwah, Clarke; Diallo, Gelhardt.