Sunderland Vs Stoke City – Due A Win

We entertain Stoke City tomorrow at the Sunderland Stadium of Light and it’s the first home game we’ve had since we played Barrow Town in the FA Cup on the 2nd of this month.

We haven’t won in the league for 9 games now and our fans are becoming increasingly frustrated. The football has been poor and the fight we saw at the beginning of the season has been missing. No doubt it’ll be a nervous night at the Stadium of Light as we’re currently only 3 points above the relegation zone.

We’ve still got to remain positive.

We’ve had horrendous luck with injuries over the past few months and we’re only beginning to see several of our key players return to action. Cattermole made an appearance against Everton on Wednesday night but he was substituted at half-tight with a slight hamstring injury. Steve Bruce is optimistic that he will be fit to play against Stoke City though.

Michael Turner should also be back in the frame after missing the game in midweek through a knee injury. Phil Bardsley could be available as well having recovered from a slight hamstring strain. With all things considered we could be entering the game against Stoke City with our strongest side for months.

It’s a must win game and a game we should feel confident about winning. Stoke are a strong side and have consistently churned out the results when it’s mattered over the past few seasons. But they’re very much ’smash and grab’ with their long-throw ins and big forwards (possibly a little harsh on Fuller as he does like to get the ball on the ground and we all know he has the skills to create something special out of nothing. It’s a shame Kenwyne can’t take a leaf out of his book). If we can recreate the quality we showed against Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester Utd this season we should have no problem turning them over.

The atmosphere at the Stadium of Light has been rocking at times this season. Let’s get it back in full swing tomorrow night when the “loudest fans” in the country make the trip up from Staffordshire. Let’s show them what it takes to gain such an accolade.