After beating Manchester City for a fourth year on the spin, more people are becoming convinced that Sunderland can survive the drop. That is, if Gus Poyet stays. Much of the talk ahead of the game has been of his threat to quit if Sunderland’s director of football, Roberto De Fanti, buy’s players behind Poyet’s back. On the field, the Uruguayan has Sunderland playing some fluent football that has been a vast improvement on that deployed by the previous two managers. The improvement on the pitch has been mostly at home with wins over Newcastle and Manchester City. Poyet has challenged his players to improve their away record: “My team, the one I want to see over the next few years, is one who can play the same away from home as they do at home.”
Gus Poyet is relishing the trip to Stoke and he thinks it will be a different to the usual: “I think it’s going to be a very interesting game and a totally new experience for everyone who has seen Stoke v Sunderland before.”
Stoke City, usually known for their excellent home form, have been struggling in front of the home fans this season with only one win against Crystal Palace all season. Their most in-form player, Asmir Begovic believes Stoke can earn a top ten finish: "We've got a good bunch of players and it's just a case of being more consistent so that we can get some good results in the near future.” A win against Sunderland may ignite their season that has been promising to be a successful one.
Team News
Stoke City- Stephen Ireland is the only absent from the team that drew with Swansea 3-3. Charlie Adam is expected to replace the Irish international..
Sunderland- Gus Poyet will assess the fitness of Wes Brown. While Andrea Dossena and Lee Cattermole both return after three-game bans.
Last time out- Sunderland 1-1 Stoke City
A second-half equaliser from John O’Shea saved a point against Stoke in the early reign of Paulo Di Canio at the Sunderland helm.