HOWARD Wilkinson is likely to rest strikers Kevin Phillips and Tore Andre Flo for the cup clash with Wanderers writes Richard Mulligan

The Sunderland boss put out his best available side for the first game at the Reebok Stadium, but may well follow Sam Allardyce's lead by giving some of his regular stars a night off.

A cup run is not the Black Cats' top priority, and their injury crisis means Wilkinson will not take risks.

At present 14 of the club's 35 professionals are missing. Long-term casualties include midfield aces Claudio Reyna and Jason McAteer, while Matthew Piper, Thomas Butler and Paul Thirlwell are also missing from that area of the pitch.

Manchester United target David Bellion is another player who has suffered a series of niggling problems recently, while Phil Babb, Jody Craddock and Stephen Wright are not available in defence.

But things could be on the up with the return of Julio Arca and Thomas Sorensen at the weekend, while club captain Michael Gray will play against Wanderers on the left of defence.

Although Phillips and Flo are in the provisional squad for the game, Wilkinson is expected to put faith in the ad hoc pairing of Marcus Stewart and Kevin Kyle.

Wilkinson said: "I have got a few players carrying injuries and I will probably rest one or two of them.

"I am not in position to pick and choose."

The pitch at the Stadium of Light is deteriorating rapidly and Wanderers could be faced with a bog if there is rain in the hours leading up to the game.

But returning goalkeeper Sorensen wants Sunderland to quickly turn their ground into a fortress if they are to beat the Premiership drop.

They have won just five of their last 20 Premiership games on home turf, a far cry from the days when visiting teams quaked at the thought of running out into a red and white cauldron.

Saturday's hard-fought but largely uninspiring 0-0 draw with Blackburn Rovers, who left Wearside rueing a series of missed opportunities, ended a run of three successive Premiership defeats.

They are also struggling to score - having drawn a blank in 11 of their 23 Premiership games this season.

"The home games are very important," admitted Sorensen.

"We were definitely disappointed with the Blackburn result, especially with the chances we had, but it was a game that we could have lost as well.

"But I think we had probably the most clear-cut chances and probably should have stuck one of two away, but it didn't happen."