PREVIEW: Sunderland vs. Stoke
Sunderland vs. Stoke, Barclays Premier League, Saturday 28th November, Stadium of Light, 3pm.
Team News…
Sunderland;
The Black Cats will hope that Jermain Defoe will be fit after he had to be replaced in Monday night’s 1-0 win at Crystal Palace due to an ankle injury.
Fabio Borini may return after missing the Palace game due to an ankle injury, whilst Billy Jones is suspended.
Stoke;
Switzerland international, Xherdan Shaqiri, is fit following a hamstring strain but Phillip Wollscheid is suffering with a sore pelvis so is a doubt.
Either Geoff Cameron or Marc Wilson will take the German’s place if he is unable to recover in time.
Last time they met…
Stoke 1-1 Sunderland
Connor Wickham gave the visitors an unexpected lead inside the first minute after the striker capitalised on a mistake by goalkeeper Asmir Begovic.
But Charlie Adam rescued a point for Stoke with a powerful strike into the top left-hand corner of the goal after being laid off by Jonathan Walters.
The result kept Stoke in ninth place, whilst Sunderland slipped into the relegation zone.
What the managers say…
Sam Allardyce;
“If we get 13 clean sheets this year we’ll stay up. The most important thing is if we can continue to be very difficult to beat, to score against, that is the starting point.”
Mark Hughes;
“I think Sam can manage at any level in the Premier League: top, middle or bottom.
“He’s got the qualities that teams at the bottom you would think would need – organisation, belief, giving them a game plan.
“Given what was out there, Sam was the best choice for them [Sunderland].”
Match Facts…
Stoke have never actually taken three points from The Stadium of Light in the Premier League- drawing twice and losing five times since their promotion to the top flight in 2008.
If the Black Cats do emerge as victors, it will be their third consecutive home win over Stoke.
Interestingly, the two teams first met on this day (28th November 1891) 124 years ago. On that occasion Sunderland ran out 3-1 winners- just as they did in this fixture last season.