This afternoon will see Sunderland host Stoke City at the Stadium of Light, in Alex Neil's first game at the SoL since he left earlier this season. Here is how I think it will go…
STOKE CITY
We have to start by addressing the elephant in the room, Alex Neil’s return. The former Sunderland gaffer departed Wearside in August in favour of a move to Stoke City. Many described the Scotsman as greedy and believed his main motive behind the move was money, meanwhile other fans questioned the integrity of our board. It was a very confusing time for the supporters, with new information coming out on a regular basis. Thankfully, everything has worked out well in the end for us and many now believe his departure was for the greater good of the club.
Personally, I was disappointed when Neil walked out because I liked him as a coach, and saw him as a long term manager to lead our club. However, the manner of his exit was extremely unprofessional. He was sitting at Ewood Park watching Stoke, whilst we had a big game against Norwich. Neil was still employed by SAFC at that time. As time goes on, it appears that Neil’s motives behind the exit were mostly money-based and his recent praise of Brighton’s recruitment model further proves that. Not to mention, he is struggling at Stoke which is a delight to see, if I'm being honest. We have proved that we can do just fine without him and that’s really reassuring to know, with Tony Mowbray now displaying such an exciting brand of football.
Now let’s talk about Stoke as a whole. The Potters have had a really poor season so far and they currently sit 17th in the table. Lewis Baker is by far and away their best player, with the former Chelsea man securing seven goals and five assists for the Potters this season. If it wasn’t for his goal contributions, Stoke would be in an even worse place right now.
Alex Neil has tended to rotate between the 3-5-2 and 4-2-3-1 formation, with Stoke having an average possession stat of 51.2% which is actually quite good. Just goes to show that you can have as much possession as you like, but if you can’t finish your chances it’s pointless.
As a whole, Stoke are a side that struggle with consistency and Alex Neil’s arrival hasn’t impacted their fortunes as much as they thought it would.
SUNDERLAND
It hasn’t been a great week on Wearside, with the Lads losing two games on the bounce for the first time since October. Mowbray’s Lads are desperate to bounce back against Stoke, and Alex Neil’s return could mean that the Stadium of Light is very rowdy this Saturday. However, I’m sure the Lads are up to the challenge.
MY PREDICTION
My prediction for this game is a 2-1 Sunderland win, I think it will be tight but I’m hopeful that we can win. Stoke will try and impose their physicality on the game, that’s been a common theme over the last few games. Personally, I would start Pierre Ekwah to give us that physical presence in the centre of the park - despite his lack of first-team minutes in his career. I think Lewis Baker will score for Stoke while Patrick Roberts and Dan Neil will score for Sunderland.
MY PREDICTED SUNDERLAND 11 (FORMATION 4-2-3-1)
1 Anthony Patterson, 6 Danny Batth, 5 Dan Ballard, 32 Trai Hume, 42 Aji Alese, 24 Dan Neil, 39 Pierre Ekwah, 16 Amad Diallo, 10 Patrick Roberts, 20 Jack Clarke, 28 Joe Gelhardt
MY PREDICTED STOKE 11 (FORMATION 4-2-3-1)
1 Matija Sarkic, 20 Dujon Sterling, 16 Ben Wilmot, 6 Phil Jagielka, 3 Morgan Fox, 18 Will Smallbone, 28 Josh Laurent, 8 Lewis Baker, 23 Bersant Celina, 9 Jacob Brown, 11 Dwight Gayle
