After a 1-0 victory at Selhurst Park on Monday, Sunderland will be hoping to grab another vital three points against a Stoke City side in a great vein of form.

This will be no easy task though, as Stoke are unbeaten in four games.

Team News

Sunderland will be sweating on the fitness of Fabio Borini and Monday night match-winner, Jermain Defoe. Both are doubts for the match due to ankle injuries.

If all players are available, it is likely Sam Allardyce will stick with the same side that produced a win earlier in the week, though DeAndre Yedlin should come in for suspended right-back Billy Jones.

As for Stoke, Shay Given and Marc Muniesa are both unavailable, whilst Mark Hughes is waiting to see whether Phillipp Wollscheid will recover from a pelvis injury to partner Ryan Shawcross in central defence. In attack, Xherdan Shaqiri, Bojan, Marko Arnautovic and Jonathan Walters are likely to make up their usual front four.

Recent Results

The visitors are in fine form and have only lost twice since the start of September. Their last four games have resulted in three wins and a draw, including wins over Chelsea in both the league and cup.

However, they haven't been deadly in front of goal as of late. Five goals in the last seven games for Stoke means they will be eager to punish Sunderland's unpredictable defence. 

Despite Sunderland winning this week, they still find themselves in the relegation zone. Two defeats since their 3-0 derby victory means no momentum was gained, so Allardyce will be looking to build on their surprise victory over Crystal Palace and gain some crucial points before Christmas. 

A victory this weekend is even more vital for the Black Cats as their December fixtures include four of last years top six teams. 

The stats

Sunderland can be optimistic due to the fact they have only lost one of their last eight Premier League matches against Stoke (W4 D3 L1). Allardyce has also now managed 150 victories in the top flight, leaving him with the 5th most wins in Premier League history. 

However, it won't be easy beating Stoke. Youngster Jack Butland is in incredible form this season and he will be looking to break the club record for consecutive away clean sheets, a record held by the famous Gordon Banks. Butland also has the highest shot to save ratio in the league this season (81%).

In his last four games against Sunderland, Charlie Adam has scored three times. 

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