Sunderland will be looking to secure back-to-back wins in the Premier League to lift themselves out of the relegation zone when they face Stoke City.

Meanwhile, the Potters are eyeing their third victory on the bounce following their triumph over Southampton last week.

Sunderland

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The Black Cats earned a vital win in their fight against relegation from the top flight by defeating Crystal Palace 1-0 at Selhurst Park thanks to Jermain Defoe's 80th-minute winner.

The victory was Sunderland's second of the season and moved them into 18th place in the table, just one point adrift of rivals Newcastle United out of the bottom three.

Since Sam Allardyce's arrival, the club have taken six points from possible 15 to improve their chances of avoiding the drop into the Championship, but the 61-year-old has conceded that his side still have plenty of work ahead of them to remain in the division.

Sunderland's clean sheet against Palace was just their second of the campaign, although both shutouts have resulted in victories for Allardyce's men, which eluded them under the tenure of Dick Advocaat.

Only Bournemouth have conceded more goals than the Black Cats this season as the club have allowed 26 goals in their 13 matches. Their defensive record at the Stadium of Light is marginally better, conceding eight goals in their six matches.

Last season, Sunderland struggled immensely to find the net as only Burnley scored fewer goals in the top flight. However, this year they have improved due to the strikeforce of Defoe and Steven Fletcher who have mustered eight goals between them, helping the club find the net 14 times.

The Wearsiders' home record this season has been the focal point of their poor start to the campaign. The club have lost to Norwich City, Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton, and have only claimed five points, three of which came from their Wear-Tyne derby win over Newcastle.

Allardyce will be stressing to his players that their record at the Stadium of Light has to improve for them to avoid relegation to the second tier ahead of their clash with the Potters.

Recent form: DLWLLW

Stoke City

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The Potters had a slow start to the campaign and were forced to wait until late September to record their first win of the season when they defeated Bournemouth at the Britannia Stadium.

Pressure had been growing on Mark Hughes during the club's six-game winless run in the top flight, but Stoke have well and truly turned the corner and are now up to mid-table in the Premier League.

Hughes will now have his sights set on breaking into the top half of the division before Christmas to secure a platform for a potential surge into the Europa League spot later in the campaign.

Stoke's resurgence started with their win over the Cherries which carried them on a three-match winning run as they also recorded victories over Aston Villa and Swansea City.

A surprise defeat to Watford halted their charge, but the Potters have found their form again to win back-to-back matches with impressive victories over Chelsea and Southampton.

Their defensive resilience has been key to their upturn in form as they failed to keep a clean sheet until October, but since then the club have held the opposition in check five times, including their last three matches on the spin.

Only Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham boast a better defensive record than Stoke this season as the Potters have conceded just 12 goals in their 13 matches this term.

Scoring goals has been Hughes's men's issue this season as the team have only managed to find the net 11 times, with Mame Biram Diouf and Bojan being their leading marksmen with three goals apiece. However, only Aston Villa have scored fewer goals in the top flight this term than the Potters.

Stoke have been one of the best teams in the Premier League on the road this season, losing just one of their seven matches. The club have claimed 12 of their 19 points on their travels, which will give them plenty of confidence heading into the match at the Stadium of Light.

Recent form: WWLDWW
Recent form (all competitions): WLWDWW

Team News

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Sunderland will be boosted by the fact that Defoe's ankle injury was not as serious as first feared, which should allow him to start against the Potters.

Allardyce will be without defender Billy Jones for the clash after he picked up his fifth booking of the season against Palace, with DeAndre Yedlin likely to replace him at right wing-back.

Fabio Borini could return to action for the Black Cats after missing the trip to Selhurst Park due to an ankle problem.

Stoke could be without defender Philipp Wollscheid for the clash against Allardyce's team due to a pelvic injury. Geoff Cameron and Marc Wilson are in line to replace the German in the Potters' back four.

Xherdan Shaqiri has been struggling with a hamstring injury but he should be able to play at the Stadium of Light, while Ibrahim Afellay and Diouf should push for a starting berth after being left on the bench during the win over Southampton.

Sunderland possible starting lineup:
Pantilimon; Coates, O'Shea, Kaboul; Yedlin, Larsson, Cattermole, M'Vila, Van Aanholt; Defoe, Fletcher

Stoke possible starting lineup:
Butland; Johnson, Shawcross, Cameron, Pieters; Whelan, Adam; Shaqiri, Arnautovic, Bojan; Walters

Head To Head

The last meeting between the sides ended in a 1-1 draw at the Britannia Stadium as Charlie Adam cancelled out Connor Wickham's strike in the first minute to earn the Potters a share of the spoils.

However, Sunderland claimed a 3-1 win in their last match at the Stadium of Light as Fletcher notched a brace and Wickham got on the scoresheet to guide the Black Cats to the three points.

Over the course of history the sides have met 148 times, with Sunderland edging the contests with 64 wins while Stoke have recorded 45 victories.

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We say: Sunderland 1-1 Stoke City

Despite Sunderland's struggles this term this fixture is always a close affair, and with both teams adopting a defensive strategy expect the outcome of the match to be a stalemate as neither side will quite have the quality to take all three points.

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