Stoke City vs Sunderland. Premier League.
Bet365 StadiumAttendance27,701.
Saturday 15 October 2016 15:03, UK
Stoke City and Sunderland will both be aiming to break their winless start to the Premier League season at the Bet365 Stadium on Saturday.
Mark Hughes' men picked up a morale-boosting point against Manchester United before the international break but this is their worst start to a league season for 65 years.
In fact, the Potters have won just 25 points in 2016 with only Watford (24) and Crystal Palace (22) picking up less from the ever-present teams currently in the Premier League.
Meanwhile, Sunderland have mirrored their poor start to last season, picking up just two points from their opening seven games.
Stoke midfielder Joe Allen will be assessed ahead of the game.
Allen is a doubt for the contest having missed Wales' 1-1 draw with Georgia last weekend due to a hamstring problem.
Full-back Glen Johnson will definitely not feature having been ruled out for at least three to four weeks because of a thigh injury.
Sunderland defenders Lamine Kone and Jason Denayer are doubts.
Kone has a hamstring problem and Denayer damaged an adductor muscle on international duty with Belgium's Under-23s, while midfielder Lee Cattermole is out having had an epidural and an injection in his hip to address pain in his legs.
Cattermole will join a lengthy casualty list which currently includes keeper Vito Mannone (fractured elbow), midfielders Jan Kirchhoff (hamstring), Adnan Januzaj (ankle ligaments), Steven Pienaar (hamstring) and Sebastian Larsson (knee) and striker Fabio Borini (groin).
Stoke are without a victory in their last five Premier League games against Sunderland (D2 L3), winning just one of their last 10 (D4 L5).
The Potters have bagged just three goals in their last five top-flight clashes with Sunderland.
On home soil, Stoke have lost just one of their eight Premier League meetings with Sunderland (W4 D3), with that defeat coming in February 2012 (0-1).
Hughes has won just three of his 16 Premier League meetings as manager with David Moyes, drawing seven and losing six.
A red card has been brandished in five of the last nine top-flight meetings between the two sides.
Sunderland have used a Premier League-high 25 players already this season.
Only Jermain Defoe (three) and Patrick van Aanholt have scored for the Black Cats this season; only three sides have seen fewer goalscorers after the first seven games of a Premier League season (Everton in 05/06, Sheff Weds in 99/00 and Sunderland in 12/13 - all one scorer each).
The Potters have been leading for a Premier League-low 17 minutes this season.
Stoke are the only side this season yet to see any of their players provide an assist in the Premier League.
The Black Cats have failed to win any of their opening seven Premier League games in three of the last four seasons (and have gone eight without a win twice before - 2013/14 and 2015/16).
These two teams are at the bottom for a reason. Still, each will think it only takes one big win to get up and running.
It would be massive for Sunderland, who have thrown away quite a few points already this season. I don't usually go against Stoke at home, though, and I know their record is poor at the moment but there was cause for optimism at Old Trafford.
Moyes' side have been a bit unlucky at times but they are so reliant on Defoe it's scary.
PAUL PREDICTS: 2-0 (Sky Bet odds 8/1)
A clash between two sides at the wrong end of the table, and it's the home side who are favoured to pick three crucial points at 19/20 with Sky Bet. It's 5/2 to end in a draw, and 14/5 that Sunderland are able to leave the Potteries with a victory under their belt.
Marko Arnautovic, fresh from a double against Wales for Austria during the international break, is 9/2 joint-favourite along with Wilfried Bony to score the first goal of the game, with Sunderland's Defoe 5/1.
Stoke v Sunderland is included in this week's Soccer Saturday Super 6 line-up. Enter your predictions here for the chance to win £250,000.
