Stoke City have endured a slow start to the campaign with one win, one draw and two losses in the league so far.
Their last outing saw D'Margio Wright-Phillips score late on to snatch a 2-2 draw against Middlesbrough.
Sunderland have had an exciting return to the second tier so far, with 14 goals in their four matches as they have picked up one win, two draws and one loss.
Wednesday's game saw them lose 2-1 at Sheffield United, with Dan Neill receiving a red card.
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Team news
Stoke
Michael O'Neill is contending with a number of serious injuries to first team players heading into this game and beyond.
The Potters' boss this week confirmed that Josh Laurent and Josh Tymon both face up to six weeks out with ankle injuries.
Arsenal loanee Harry Clarke remains out for five weeks with a shin injury, whilst Ben Wilmot is set to have a fitness test before Saturday's game after complaining of a sore foot in training on Friday.
City also remain without long-term absentees Nick Powell and Harry Souttar with knee and ACL injuries respectively, with the former hoping to return to action in September.
New man Liam Delap may be handed his first start by O'Neill against Sunderland after arriving on loan from Manchester City this week.
Sunderland
Dan Neill will miss his side's trip to North Staffordshire after picking up a straight red card at Sheffield United last time out.
Alex Neil is hopeful that Corry Evans will be fit to face the Potters after he sat out of the trip to Sheffield with a hamstring injury.
Danny Batth is set to be available to face his former club after limping off on Wednesday with a tight groin.
Dan Ballard and Carl Winchester are both absent for the foreseeable future due to respective foot and back problems.
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Likely lineups
Stoke
Bursik; Wilmot, Flint, Taylor; Fosu, Baker, Kilkenny, Smallbone, Thompson; Delap, Brown.
Sunderland
Patterson; O'Nien, Batth, Cirkin; Gooch, Matete, Embleton, Clarke; Pritchard; Simms, Stewart.
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Ones to watch
Liam Delap
19-year-old Delap is one of the hottest young properties in English football at the minute, and so it seemed a surprise to many when he joined Stoke on loan this week after it was reported that Premier League side Southampton had tabled a bid in excess of £15 million for the striker recently.
Delap has history at Stoke though, with father Rory being a Potters and Premier League cult hero due to his long throws when he played for the club between 2007 and 2013. Liam is more of a lethal finisher, with his 32 goals in 30 Premier League 2 games over the last two seasons proving that.
Ellis Simms
Simms joined Sunderland this summer on loan from Everton, and has made professional appearances for four different clubs so far in his career at just 21 years-old. He netted ten times in 24 games for Blackpool in 2020/21, as well as seven times in 21 games for Hearts in the Scottish Premiership last season.
His spell at the Black Cats has begun brightly, with three goals in his first three games, including a brace at Bristol City on his first start.
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Match details
Where is the game being played?
The game is being held at the bet365 Stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire.
What time is kick off?
Kick off is at 15:00 BST, on Saturday, August 20.
How can I watch?
The game will not be televised in the United Kingdom and Ireland, but is available for purchase on iFollow.