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Chopra in line for Cup return
Sunderland, 12:58, January 22, 2009 ,
Ricky Sbragia's decision to leave Michael Chopra out of Sunderland's reserve-team clash on Wednesday suggests he will face Blackburn.
The striker looked all set for a second-string appearance against his former club and deadly local rivals Newcastle, having recently recovered from an ankle problem. However Black Cats boss, Sbragia, opted not to field Chopra in the 2-1 defeat and gave a clear indication that he might line up in the starting XI for Saturday's FA Cup fourth-round clash against Sam Allardyce's Rovers at the Stadium of Light.
He told the Echo: "The idea was to involve Michael in the reserves if he needed it to sharpen him up. But I've looked at his stats and he looks to be match fit already, so we'll definitely consider giving him for the cup game."