Having battled their way to promotion last season via the Championship play-offs, Sunderland have been the standout newcomers to the Premier League this term.
Brian Brobbey, Wilson Isidor and Eliezer Mayenda have all made their contributions and here is a closer look at how these three forwards have made an impact in the final third for the Black Cats this season.
Brobbey leads the way with goals
Sunderland's success this season has largely been about being resilient and edging out games, rather than blowing teams away.
Regis Le Bris' side might be sat in 11th place in the standings, but with 27 goals in 26 games, only rock-bottom Wolverhampton Wanderers (16) and Nottingham Forest (25) have scored fewer goals this season.
While goals have been at a premium for the Wearsiders, it is Dutch forward Brobbey who has led the way with five in the Premier League this season.
Although his goals have not been consistent, they have come in big moments, with four of Brobbey's five goals coming in games Sunderland have taken points from.
Isidor is just one goal behind Brobbey in the standings with four in the Premier League this term.
However, after starting the season strongly, the Frenchman has not scored in any of his last 16 appearances.
Granted, many of those outings were from off the bench, but Sunderland could certainly use some goals from Isidor to avoid the potential of a nervy end to the Premier League season.
With just one goal in the league this term, Mayenda is pulling up the rear but at just 20 years old, the Spaniard is still finding his feet in the English top flight.
Isidor happy to chance his arm
While Brobbey might be leading the way in the goalscoring charts, it is Isidor who has had more shots at goal in the Premier League this season.
Although Brobbey has one more goal to his name, Isidor has had 26 shots in the league this season compared to the Dutchman's 16.
Five goals from 16 shots is a decent return for Brobbey and Le Bris will be eager to get the former Ajax forward into more goalscoring positions over the coming weeks.
Mayenda once again trails in the shots statistics with seven in the league this season.
Sharing the load
Considering that Sunderland defenders Dan Ballard and Trai Hume have had 20 and 17 total shots, respectively, in the Premier League this term, it does not reflect well on Mayenda.
Again, a lack of minutes has played against Mayenda, and it seems Le Bris is happy to put his faith in Brobbey and Isidor to deliver the crucial goals that will ensure Sunderland can retain their top-flight status for next season.
The fact that the Black Cats have not been forced to rely on a single striker for goals this season has been part of their success so far.
A Sunderland player is unlikely to be troubling the Golden Boot conversation between now and the end of the campaign.
However, Brobbey and Isidor are doing enough in a resilient side to keep the Wearside outfit looking up towards the European places and away from any potential relegation worries.
