Making the case for a Fabio Borini start for Sunderland against Manchester City

Fabio Borini

Gus Poyet’s arrival in the Sunderland hot-seat has heralded a revival in fortunes of much-maligned striker Fabio Borini, with the Italian ready to seize a second chance at the Stadium of Light.

Borini’s thunderous strike against Newcastle was his first goal since scoring for Liverpool against the same side in April, and one that will have come as a huge relief to the youngster.

After a nightmare first season at Liverpool, Brendan Rodgers saw fit to loan the 22-year-old out in order to help him regain his confidence in a less pressured environment.

However, Sunderland have lurched from one crisis to another this season, with the sacking of Paolo di Canio leading to the appointment of Poyet.

In contrast to Di Canio’s insistence on playing summer signing Jozy Altidore and Steven Fletcher, Poyet has given Borini opportunities to impress so far in his tenure.

One such opportunity led to his winner in the derby, thus ensuring that he’ll never have to buy a drink in Sunderland ever again.

Another chance was handed to Borini in form of a start in Sunderland’s 1-0 defeat to Hull City, but two red cards on the cusp of half-time effectively ruined his afternoon as he was hauled off in a reshuffle.

He was then left on the bench for Sunderland’s 2-1 win over Southampton in the Capital One Cup, with Altidore playing a starring role in the second half.

But now, it is time for Poyet to start the striker in his favoured position ahead of the likes of Altidore and Fletcher, who have failed to deliver the goods so far for Sunderland.

The Italian is exactly the kind of penalty box poacher that the Black Cats could use as the lone striker in a 4-3-3 formation, Poyet’s favoured tactic of choice.

From an admittedly small sample, Borini has a 60 per cent shot accuracy so far this season and one goal from five shots, a respectable conversion rate of 20 per cent.

With a mere 175 minutes’ worth of football, the Italian has scored once so far this season – Fletcher could only manage two in 472 and Altidore none in 536.

That’s a ratio of 175 minutes per goal for Borini, compared to Fletcher’s 236 and Altidore’s, well, let’s not go there.

As for chances and key passes, Altidore edges ahead with one every 89 minutes, compared to Fletcher’s 118 and Borini’s 175, but the former two have the advantage of more starts.

In keeping with Poyet’s passing philosophy, Borini has a very respectable average pass accuracy of 82 per cent, which is far superior to Altidore’s 65 per cent and Fletcher’s abysmal 56 per cent.

Borini suffers in terms of duels however, due to his slight frame and style of play as he is not a player suited to winning headers or beating defenders with pace or skill.

But Sunderland need to focus on what is important to them, and the reality is that goals win games, something Sunderland have a huge lack of at present – they are the third worst in the league for goals scored.

At the moment, the statistics show that Borini is currently the best bet for a goal for Poyet’s Sunderland. The Uruguyan coach would be foolish to ignore that and persist with his rivals who have failed so far.

Play Borini up front, utilise his strengths and include players that can get the best out of the Italian poacher. If Poyet can pinpoint the right set-up to achieve all of the above, the striker’s screamer could be followed by plenty more just as vital to the Black Cats cause.