Stoke vs Sunderland team news: Mark Hughes drops Bojan to the bench

STOKE CITY will be looking to kick on after a morale boosting point at Old Trafford and David Moyes may be smiling at last after Sunderland salvaged a point at home to West Brom.

The Black Cats first win in the Potteries since 2012 could lift the Wearsiders out of the drop zone. But Mark Hughes will see this game as the perfect chance for the home side to bag their first Premier League win of the season.

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TEAM NEWS

Stoke City: Lee Grant, Phil Bardsley, Ryan Shawcross, Bruno Martins Indi, Erik Pieters, Geoff Cameron, Glenn Whelan, Xherdan Shaqiri, Joe Allen, Marko Arnautovic, Wilfried Bony.

Subs:  Shay Given, Marc Muniesa, Charlie Adam, Mame Biram Diouf, Jonathan Walters, Peter Crouch, Bojan Krkic.

Sunderland: Jordan Pickford, Javier Manquillo, Papy Djilobodji, Patrick van Aanholt, Paddy McNair, Jack Rodwell, Didier Ndong, Duncan Watmore, Wahbi Khazri, Jermain Defoe.

Subs: Mika, Lynden Gooch, Steven Pienaar, Donald Love, Victor Anichebe, Billy Jones.

Stats:

• 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).
• Mark 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 (3) 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)

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