Sunderland midfield trio could return vs Stoke City

Sunderland head to Stoke City in the Championship this weekend.

Luke Phelps | Oct 19, 2023

Sunderland midfield trio could return vs Stoke City /

Sunderland head to Stoke City in the Championship this weekend.

It's a game against former boss Alex Neil for Sunderland, with many of this current Black Cats squad having earned promotion from League One under his watch.

The Scot left for Stoke City shortly after the start of last season but he hasn't enjoyed much success since, with his Potters side currently sat in 21st.

Tony Mowbray's Sunderland meanwhile are up in 4th, but they go into this game on the back of a 4-0 defeat at home vs Middlesbrough before the break.

And that game saw Dan Neil receive a red card and so he'll be one of the players missing from tomorrow's game, though Sunderland Echo report that midfielder trio Pierre Ekwah, Bradley Dack, and Alex Pritchard could all be involved.

Elsewhere, Mowbray has a fresh injury concern in Dan Ballard who appears to be 50/50 to feature on Saturday, and so too does Niall Huggins who was forced off early vs Middlesbrough.

The likes of Dennis Cirkin, Aji Alese, Eliezer Mayenda, Corry Evans, Jay Matete, and Timothee Pembele remain sidelined.

A tough, but winnable game...

Stoke City will certainly put up a fight, Neil will have used the two-week break to his advantage and he'll be hoping that his side come back stronger.

But Stoke have even more injuries than Sunderland, and with the Black Cats looking good this season, it could be another long afternoon for Stoke.

Neil will try and use his knowledge of these Sunderland layers to his advantage, but it'll remain difficult to get past Mowbray's side who'll be out for revenge after that defeat vs Middlesbrough.

Saturday's game kicks off at 3pm.

A tough, but winnable game...

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