Sunderland vs. Tottenham Hotspur: Preview and TV schedule

Sunderland still sit bottom of the Premier League table, but there's no doubt that they've shown an improvement under Gus Poyet. They've not won in their last three, but came perilously close to upsetting Chelsea in midweek, eventually losing 4-3 in a goalfest at the Stadium of Light. They'll look to make amends against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, with Spurs also having been patchy of late.

André Villas-Boas' side ended their winless run of four games by coming behind to beat relegation-threatened Fulham in midweek, but it was far from a vintage performance. It took two brilliant long-range efforts for them to seal the 2-1 win, though they are now sitting up in sixth place.

For this match, Sunderland will be without goalkeeper Keiren Westwood and defender Carlos Cuéllar through injury, though otherwise have a full-strength team available. Spurs' biggest absentees are Emmanuel Adebayor and Christian Eriksen, while Mousa Dembélé and Jan Vertonghen will have to shake off slight injuries if they're to be involved.

Out: Keiren Westwood (shoulder), Carlos Cuéllar (thigh). In doubt: None.

Tottenham Hotspur injuries and suspensions

Out: Emmanuel Adebayor (knee), Christian Eriksen (ankle), Harry Kane (back), Danny Rose (foot). In doubt: Mousa Dembélé (hip), Jan Vertonghen (ankle).

Projected lineups

Sunderland: Vito Mannone; Andrea Dossena, John O'Shea, Wes Brown, Phil Bardsley; Ki Sung-Yueng; Fabio Borini, Jack Colback, Sebastian Larsson, Emanuele Giaccherini; Jozy Altidore.

Tottenham Hotspur: Hugo Lloris; Kyle Naughton, Vlad Chiricheș, Michael Dawson, Kyle Walker; Paulinho, Sandro; Nacer Chadli, Lewis Holtby, Aaron Lennon; Roberto Soldado.

Match Date/Time: Saturday, 17:30 p.m. local, 12:30 p.m. ET

Venue: Stadium of Light, Sunderland, England

TV: NBC Sports Network (U.S.), TSN2 (Canada), Sky Sports 1/HD (U.K.).

Online: NBC Sports Live Extra (U.S.), Sky Go (U.K.).