Good afternoon and welcome to the live commentary of the Premier League clash between Sunderland and Stoke City at the Stadium of Light.

The match holds great significance in the seasons of both teams as a win for Sunderland could lift them out of the bottom three for the first time in the campaign. Meanwhile, the Potters are hoping to break into the top half of the table following their impressive run of form.

Sunderland are searching for their third win of the campaign following their 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace on Monday. Sam Allardyce's men put in a resilient display at Selhurst Park to thwart the Eagles and they claimed the three points when Jermain Defoe capitalised on a mistake from Scott Dann and Wayne Hennessey to slot the ball into an empty net. The Black Cats now face the challenge of putting together back-to-back victories, but will face a stern test this afternoon against Mark Hughes's side.

The Potters are on an impressive run of form, having won five out of their last seven matches. The club have claimed back-to-back victories in the Premier League following their wins over Chelsea and Southampton and are now eyeing a place in the top half of the table to threaten the European places before the end of the year. Stoke had a slow start to the campaign as it took seven matches for them to register their first win of the term, but since then their form has been exemplary. The only blemish in recent weeks has been their defeat to Watford, and Hughes and his team will have to be on guard this afternoon to avoid a similar let down.

The team news has been announced and we'll start with the home side.

SUNDERLAND STARTING XI: Pantilimon; Coates, O'Shea, Kaboul; Yedlin, Larsson, Cattermole, M'Vila, Van Aanholt; Defoe, Fletcher
Subs: Mannone, Borini, Johnson, Matthews, Lens, Toivonen, Watmore

STOKE STARTING XI: Butland; Johnson, Shawcross, Wollscheid, Pieters; Whelan, Adam; Shaqiri, Bojan, Arnautovic; Walters
Subs: Haugaard, Wilson, Afellay, van Ginkel, Diouf, Cameron, Crouch

Sunderland have made one change to their lineup from their win over Palace as DeAndre Yedlin comes into the right wing-back position to replace the suspended Billy Jones. The defender earned his fifth booking of the season against the Eagles and misses out today for Allardyce's men. Defoe and Steven Fletcher continue to lead the line for the Black Cats following their impressive displays on Monday, while Sebastian Larsson, Lee Cattermole and Yann M'Vila occupy a three-man midfield. Yedlin and Van Aanholt offer pace in the wing-back slots just ahead of a the back three of Younes Kaboul, John O'Shea and Sebastian Coates.

Stoke are unchanged from their impressive win over Southampton last time out with Philipp Wollscheid coming through a fitness test to start alongside Ryan Shawcross in the heart of the defence. The solid back five remain intact for the Potters with Jack Butland between the sticks, while Glen Johnson and Erik Pieters line up in the full-back positions. Charlie Adam and Glenn Whelan sit in front of the back four, while Stoke's threat this afternoon will come from Marko Arnautovic, Bojan Krkic and Xherdan Shaqiri, who play behind Jonathan Walters in attack.

Sunderland's home form has been an issue this season as they have claimed only five points from a possible 18. Their only win in the Premier League at the Stadium of Light came against bitter rivals Newcastle United, while they have lost to Norwich City, Tottenham Hotspur and their last match against Southampton. Allardyce has highlighted the club's home form as the key to their survival this season and he will be hopeful that they can start to turn the corner this afternoon.

Hughes's men have been extremely impressive on the road this season, losing just one of their seven matches. The defeat came at the hands of Arsenal in September, but since then the Potters have won three and drawn once on their travels. The club boast the seventh-best away record in the top flight, which has made amends for their mediocre form at the Britannia Stadium. Hughes and his team will be determined to continue their good run this afternoon.

Allardyce has claimed that his side will remain in the Premier League if they manage to keep 13 clean sheets this season. Sunderland have shut out the opposition twice this season, but both of their clean sheets have resulted in victories.

The Black Cats boss told reporters: "If we get 13 clean sheets this year we'll stay up. The most important thing is if we can continue to be very difficult to beat, to score against, that is the starting point."

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Hughes believes that his side can push on from their currrent run of impressive form to better their ninth-place finish of the last campaign.

He told the Stoke Sentinel: "Our ambitions are the same as at the beginning of the season and that is to be better than last year. Our challenge was to get more points than last year and we are on track for that.

"We've brought quality in, I feel. We lost key players in the group, Asmir Begovic, Steven Nzonzi and the like, so we had to make changes, not through choice, but we've coped. Jack [Butland] has come in and done great, and we've also coped without Steven.

"We will get better, and players like Bojan will get better as he gets fitter. Once everybody clicks on the same day we will cause problems. We've got key fixtures coming up that we need to deal with, but if we get through the Christmas fixtures, we will be very positive about the season ahead."

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STAT ATTACK! Stoke have never won in the Premier League on their trips to the Stadium of Light, losing five of their matches and drawing twice. However, they did record a 2-1 win last season in the Capital One Cup thanks to a brace from Marc Muniesa.

Stoke have kept clean sheets in their last four away matches, which has resulted in three victories. The return of Ryan Shawcross has been pivotal to their upsurge after he missed the opening three months of the campaign due to a back injury. However, Hughes has claimed that his captain may not get a chance under Roy Hodgson ahead of Euro 2016.

He told reporters: "From the first time he came back against Chelsea he's been outstanding. He certainly has the ambitions to get into the England squad but he just has to continue with performing well here.

"Roy has stuck with the players that have got him through the [Euro 2016] qualification campaign, however, so Ryan might have to wait for a change of circumstance in order to get a chance. All managers have loyalty to players that have produced for them in the past and you can understand that, particularly at this late stage before a major tournament."

As we approach kickoff take a look a what the Sports Mole pundits think will happen at the Stadium of Light this afternoon.

STAT ATTACK! Jermain Defoe has scored in seven goals in his nine start for Sunderland this season, including his hat-trick against Exeter City in the Capital One Cup.

STAT ATTACK! Bojan has scored three goals in the Premier League this season, and two of those strikes have come on the road in 1-0 victories for the Potters.

LAST MEETING: The teams played out a 1-1 draw in their last clash in the Premier League as Connor Wickham put Sunderland ahead in the first minute, but Charlie Adam cancelled out his strike to earn Stoke a share of the spoils. In the last match at the Stadium of Light, a brace from Steven Fletcher and a goal from Wickham guided the Black Cats to victory, despite a goal from Adam in the first half.

Before kickoff today there will be a minute's applause for former Sunderland keeper Marton Fulop, who passed away at the age of 32 two weeks ago.

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The players are out on the pitch at the Stadium of Light so we should be underway shortly.

The minute's applause has taken place, with shouts of 'one Marton Fulop' from the Sunderland crowd. We're now ready for kickoff at the Stadium of Light.

KICKOFF! We're underway at the Stadium of Light.

Slow start to the game from both sides as they size each other up, both teams drop off to get into a defensive shape, which will be expected this afternoon.

Sunderland make headway down the left and Cattermole threads the ball through to Van Aanholt on the overlap, but the Dutchman takes a poor first touch to lose control to allow Stoke to clear their lines from a goal kick.

Stoke try to work the ball around the Sunderland defence on the edge of the box, but Arnautovic's pass through to Walters goes straight to the feet of Pantilimon.

Sunderland hit the visitors on the break and Van Aanholt raids down the left before sending a low cross into the box. Fletcher takes the ball in stride to knock the ball on to his left foot, but Shawcross manages to get a block on his shot to take the pace off the effort as Butland gathers.

Good defending by Kaboul as he cuts the ball off at the near post from Pieters's cross from the left with Walters lurking in the middle. The Black Cats defender needed to make that intervention.

Sunderland show good signs up front in the past three minutes as Fletcher and Defoe almost link-up twice and only a good tackle from Whelan and a slightly overhit through ball from the Scot deny Defoe a shooting chance in the box.

The Black Cats are edging the contest at the moment and have shown a few nice touches in the final third, but are yet to trouble Jack Butland.

CHANCE! Defoe comes within inches of finding the net as Sunderland work the ball well on the edge of the box following good work from O'Shea from a free kick. The defender plays the ball to Larsson, who uses trickery to play in Defoe on the edge of the area, but his strike goes just wide of the post.

Arnautovic's misses the chance to put the ball into the box from a free kick, which allows Sunderland to break with Defoe. The forward has options to his left, but Arnautovic gets back to win the ball from the 33-year-old. Good covering from the Austrian, not sure about his man bun though.

Shaqiri shows his ability as he beats his man down the left and sends a powerful low ball into the box, which has Larsson in trouble covering the near post. The Swede just gets a foot on the ball to divert it away from Walters and into the arms of Pantilimon.

Better from Stoke as they work the ball between Adam, Johnson and Bojan to allow the Spaniard time to strike the ball in the edge of the box. However, the effort from Bojan goes well over the bar.

Yedlin shows a good burst of space down the right to raid past Pieters, but the Stoke defender manages to get back to make a good covering tackle to send the ball behind for a corner.

Sunderland apply pressure on the Stoke defence, but Kaboul's attempted through-ball to Fletcher proves to be too heavy and the Potters are able to clear their lines.

SUBSTITUTION: Defoe is forced to make way for the home side due to a hamstring injury sustained in his break 10 minutes ago. Watmore comes on to the pitch to replace him.

CHANCE! Stoke should be ahead as Pieters puts the ball across the face of goal and Walters gets in between Coates and O'Shea in the six-yard box, but the forward was denied by a good save from Pantilimon. So close to an opener for the Potters.

YELLOW CARD! Adam goes into the book for a cynical challenge on Cattermole.

Stoke have come back into the contest over the past few minutes and have began to put the Black Cats under pressure at the back, but the hosts are starting to display the resilience Allardyce has preached at them by holding out at the back.

Watmore breaks down the left for the home side and Shawcross comes in late on the forward and misses the ball. Watmore stays on his feet despite being clipped an earns a corner. Allardyce is furious on the sideline as the centre-back escapes a booking.

Watmore continues to threaten for Sunderland by breaking down the right. The Black Cats work the ball well across the pitch as Van Aanholt lifts the ball into the middle, forcing Shawcross to head the ball over the bar.

YELLOW CARD! Shawcross does go into the book on this occasion by bringing down Fletcher on the edge of the box. A chance for Sunderland to test Butland here before the break.

Sunderland waste their opportunity as Van Aanhlolt can only slam his effort into the wall and the Potters manage to clear the danger.

There will be two minutes of added time.

The Potters put the pressure on before the break as they win a corner. Bojan will whip the ball into the box.

CHANCE! Bojan's corner finds the run of Adam at the near post and the Scot makes connection with a powerful header, but he sends his effort over the bar. Huge chance for the Potters.

Pantilimon escapes a potential booking and maybe more as he claims the ball outside the box ahead of Bojan. Stoke are not happy, but referee Mike Dean waves play on. Lucky escape for the Romanian.

Half time at the Stadium of Light and it has been a pretty even contest after 45 minutes. The best chances of the game may have fallen to the Potters, but Sunderland have been a constant threat in the final third. Both managers will be pleased with efforts of their teams in the first half, but will want an improvement in execution in the final third.

Sunderland's best opportunity of the game fell to Jermain Defoe, but he fired his strike just wide of the post in the 18th minute. Defoe was forced off later in the half with a suspected hamstring injury, but Duncan Watmore impressed from the bench with his direct running, although he did lack a clinical edge in and around the box, which typified the display of his team in the first half. However, Allardyce will have been pleased with his team's performance especially at the back, bar one good chance for Jonathan Walters.

Stoke have been as billed before the match, resolute at the back and a threat on the counter. Walters had the best chance of the half when he latched on to Erik Pieters's cross in the six-yard box and he should have been able to place the ball past Costel Pantilimon, but he was denied by the Romanian. Ryan Shawcross may have been fortunate to escape a red card for two loose challenges on Watmore and Fletcher, but the Potters have continued to be solid at the back. Xherdan Shaqiri and Marko Arnautovic have been quiet along with Bojan, and Hughes will want to see more from the attacking trio after the break.

The players have emerged for the second half, so we should be underway shortly.

RESTART! We're back underway at the Stadium of Light.

RED CARD! Shawcross is sent off for Stoke for a late challenge on Watmore. The defender brings down the England Under-21 international as he collects the ball on the edge of the box, Shawcross gets a touch on the ball, but wipes out Watmore, resulting in his dismissal for a second bookable offence.

Sunderland waste the free kick on the edge of the box as M'Vila hammers his free kick into the wall and Stoke are able to clear the danger.

SUBSTITUTION: Cameron comes on for Bojan as Stoke re-shuffle their formation following Shawcross's dismissal.

Stoke win a free kick down the right as Shaqiri goes down under the challenge of Kaboul. The Swiss takes the free kick and fires his effort towards goal, only to put his strike past the post.

CHANCE! Sunderland work the ball down the right as Fletcher raids at Pieters and sends the ball across the edge of the box to M'Vila, but the midfielder scuffs his effort wide of the post.

SUBSTITUTION: Larsson makes way for Lens due to injury.

CHANCE! M'Vila collects the ball down the right from a pass from Lens, and he fires his strike towards the near post, only for the keeper to make a vital stop at his near post.

CHANCE! Coates wins the ball back in the final third and sends the ball out wide to Lens. The defender continues his run into the box and latches on to the delivery from the Dutchman from the right, but Butland makes a fine save to tip his header over the bar.

CHANCE! Johnson makes a surge all the way forward down the right and into the box. The right-back cuts the ball back to Walters on the edge of the box, but the striker sends his strike straight into the arms of Pantilimon.

Johnson makes another run into the final third, and with no support decides to take on a strike that lands safely in the arms of Pantilimon.

Shaqiri makes a forward run into space in the final third and his ball almost makes its way into the path of Arnautovic, but it just trickles beyond the reach of the Austrian as Pantilimon gathers on the slide in his area.

CHANCE! M'Vila wins the ball from Arnautovic in the centre circle and he plays the ball into the feet of Lens, who raids to the edge of the box. The Dutchman tries to find space for a strike, but Cameron does well to block his effort wide of the post.

From the resulting corner the ball comes out to Lens on the edge of the box. He takes a touch to set himself up on the volley, but can only blast his effort over the bar.

Sunderland are struggling for tempo and Cattermole tries to inject pace by lifting the ball over the top of Pieters to the on-rushing Yedlin, but the right-back can only send his volleyed effort over the bar.

SUBSTITUTION: O'Shea makes way for the home side to be replaced by Johnson, an attacking move by Allardyce.

CHANCE! Lens takes the ball down the left and cuts back on to his right foot to shoot at goal, but his effort sails over the bar, with Butland having his angle covered anyway.

Van Aanholt steals the ball in the final third and feeds Lens down the left. The wingers sends a ball to the back post for the run of Fletcher, but Pieters does well to clear the ball behind for a corner.

Sunderland win a free kick on the edge of the box after Johnson is brought down. The Black Cats were also denied a penalty when Lens was felled by Wollscheid, but referee Dean waved away their appeals. Lens may have had a case, but the Black Cats can threaten here.

Sunderland take the lead through a fine strike from Van Aanholt and Stoke's defences are finally breached as Johnson lays the ball into the path of the Dutchman on the edge of the box, and his left-footed drive finds the bottom corner. The first goal Stoke have conceded on their travels since September.

Sunderland surely seal the three points now as Watmore is played through down the right and he beats Pieters for pace before drilling his effort into the bottom corner. Good pace and a neat finish for the forward, who has made a telling impact in this match.

SUBSTITUTION: Afellay comes on for the visitors to replace Adam.

Watmore bursts through the middle and after robbing Arnautovic, and then lays the ball into the path of Lens, but the Dutchman fails to hit the target as he sends his strike over the bar.

There will be four minutes of added time.

CHANCE! Johnson tries an ambitious strike from the 30 yards after latching on to Fletcher's flick, but he sends his effort well wide of the post.

Sunderland secure back-to-back wins in the Premier League for the first time this season to move out of the relegation zone at the expense of their rivals Newcastle United. The Black Cats capitalised on the sending off of Ryan Shawcross early in the second half to claim the three points as late strikes from Patrick van Aanholt and Duncan Watmore secured the win for Sam Allardyce's men, who now have three wins in six games under the 61-year-old.

Stoke will feel hard done by due to the decision of Mike Dean to dismiss Shawcross in the 46th minute, but the defender could have seen red in the first half, so Hughes may not have to much to complain about. The Potters' attacking players were not at the races today and they will rue missed opportunities in the first half, which has brought their winning run to an end.

Thanks for joining our commentary this afternoon. Until next time, goodbye.