English Premier League Week 11 Preview: Sunderland Look To Rebound As Stoke City Visit The Stadium Of Light

Sunderland’s players will be anxiously awaiting their chance to take the field against Stoke come Saturday in hopes they can prove to their home support they’re no mugs after going down emphatically to their bitter rivals Newcastle last weekend. Steve Bruce looks set to unleash record signing Asamoah Gyan upon Stoke on Saturday in hopes the Ghanaian can soon settle into life as an Premier League footballer.

Before the 5-1 thrashing away to Newcastle last Sunday, Sunderland had become quite the draw specialists again in the Premier League having drawn five of their last seven to earn a point in each. Steve Bruce and Co will want nothing along the lines of the abysmal performance witnessed in the Tyne-Wear derby where Sunderland lacked any form of cohesion as a unit both in defense and attack.

Stoke City are also coming off of a loss in the Premier League. Having sustained a scoreless draw until the 67th minute of their Goodison Park encounter with Everton, The Potters eventual capitulation at the hands of Yakubu has placed them in the pit of the Premier League on 10 points with three league defeats in a row.

All variables point to an extremely hard fought match between two teams with plenty to prove.

Projected Lineup, Sunderland (4-4-2): Mignolet - Bardsley, Mensah, Turner, Onuoha - Cattermole, Henderson, Malbranque, Al Muhamammadi - Bent, Gyan

Projected Lineup, Stoke City (4-4-2) : Begovic - Faye, Collins, Shawcross, Huth - Pennant, Whitehead, Delap, Etherington - Jones, Tuncay

Key Battle: Sunderland’s Titus Bramble was sent off last weekend and will now miss three Premier League matches. His replacement in the center of defense will likely be John Mensah, so look for Darren Bent especially to test Mesah’s ability to man mark.

Battle Within the Battle: Asomoah Gyan’s inclusion into the starting lineup definitely makes him the man to watch. Gyan’s an explosive and powerful striker who’s proved himself on the international stage, both at the World Cup and at last year’s African Cup of Nations. His only current problem is that he’s yet to settle into the Premier League. Could Saturday’s match v Stoke City at home be just the game he needs to break through?

Pick: Sunderland have a bit more quality in their starting XI than do Stoke. Look for the Black Cats to approach this game with plenty of concentration and purpose after their embarrassment last weekend. In what could be a decent and open match, look for Bent to continue his scoring ways in a 3-1 victory for Sunderland.