Stoke City vs Sunderland: Five memorable meetings ahead of Championship fixture against Alex Neil’s team

If three points and maintaining a Championship play-off place was not a big enough incentive, Sunderland go to Stoke on Saturday with a chance to exact revenge on pantomime villain Alex Neil. The Scot masterminded a 5-1 demolition of the Black Cats last season, just a few months after walking out on the Wearsiders, and all eyes will be on the home side’s dugout.

But what does Sunderland’s wider recent history with the Potters suggest will happen ahead of this weekend’s Bet365 Stadium clash?  From late comebacks to last-gasp agony — and even bust-ups between teammates — meetings between Sunderland and Stoke are rarely dull.

So, ahead of their revenge mission at Stoke, here are some of the most memorable recent encounters between the Wearsiders and the Potters.

Sunderland 2-2 Stoke City - 13 March 2007

Roy Keane’s men were flying high in the Championship prior to this match-up, with the Black Cats unbeaten in 11 games.

Dean Whitehead grabbed an equaliser for Sunderland from distance, after Darel Russell opened the scoring in the 22nd minute, only for Carl Hoefkens to restore City’s lead before the end of the first half.  But it was a common occurrence for Keane to take a leaf out of former manager Sir Alex Ferguson’s book and a late goal by Daryl Murphy rescued a point for Sunderland.

The Wearsiders continued their red hot form with five consecutive wins in the wake of this battling draw — soaring to the top of the table and amassing 88 points by the end of the season.

Stoke City 3-2 Sunderland - 05 Feb 2011

Sunderland thought they had this game won as they led 2-1 with just 10 minutes to go.

Kieran Richardson’s early goal had been cancelled out by John Carew before half-time, only for Asamoah Gyan to put the Black Cats back ahead after the break. However, an unlikely Robert Huth double won the game for Stoke as the German defender got on the end of two pinpoint Jermaine Pennant crosses.

Steve Bruce’s side managed to keep the Potters at bay for a long period of the game but the hosts’ physicality proved overwhelming. Ultimately, some sloppy defending meant Sunderland were masters of their own downfall.

Interestingly, Tony Pulis’ Stoke contained four former Sunderland players that day — Danny Higginbotham, Rory Delap, Dean Whitehead and Kenwyne Jones. Thomas Sorensen, Danny Collins and future Sunderland defender Marc Wilson were all on the bench.

Sunderland 4-0 Stoke City - 18 September 2011

Sunderland’s poor start to the season came to an end with a resounding first win of the 2011-12 campaign.

The Black Cats were 3-0 up within half an hour thanks to Titus Bramble, Craig Gardner and a Jonathan Woodgate own goal before Seb Larsson fired a trademark free kick into the far corner to kill off the game.

Stoke started the day in fifth place but Pulis heavily rotated his squad following European action the previous week against Dynamo Kyiv — making eight changes to the starting 11. It was a complete performance from a Steve Bruce side that had picked up just two points prior to this victory.

Sunderland 1-3 Stoke City - 14 January 2017

David Moyes needed three points to leapfrog Hull City and Crystal Palace and exit the relegation zone. But Sunderland’s abysmal first half of the season was perfectly summed up as the Potters went 3-0 up inside 35 minutes thanks to a brace from Marko Arnautović and a header by Peter Crouch.

Sunderland’s morale was at an all-time low and matters only got worse for the hosts when Patrick van Aanholt and Adnan Januzaj were at each other’s throats towards the end of the game. Moyes’ defensive woes continued when Van Aanholt left the Stadium of Light for Selhurst Park the following week in a £12 million deal.

Sunderland 1-5 Stoke City - 04 March 2023

Of course, the last time the two teams faced off was the return of Alex Neil. It was the first time he’d faced the Sunderland crowd since his controversial departure in August.

However, Neil was able to block out the barrage of abuse from the Sunderland fans and got his tactics spot on. The canny Scot knew the home team inside out, having dragged the Black Cats out of League One, and Neil set about exploiting every weakness in a disjointed side.

Incredibly, Sunderland saw more of the ball but the well-drilled Potters were able to cut through the soft-centred midfield two of Dan Neil and Alex Pritchard with ease.

A Josh Laurent goal and a Tyreese Campbell brace gave Stoke a great foothold in the game before Dwight Gayle compounded fans’ misery — the former Newcastle striker taunted the crowd after both of his goals completed the rout.