Sunderland manager Tony Mowbray says that he has to find a combination of winning games and blooding young players.
Mowbray fielded a starting XI with an average age of just 21 years and eight months in Saturday's 3-1 win over Birmingham City.
"There's a fine balance and that is what I'm trying to get right," he said.
Victory over Blues left the Black Cats sixth in the Championship heading into the international break.
Sunderland have one of the youngest squads in the division and at 26, Patrick Roberts was the oldest player to start against Birmingham.