Sunderland 1 Stoke City 5: Highlights as Cats are thrashed by Alex Neil's side after Dwight Gayle brace

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Sunderland’s Championship fixture against Stoke City.

The match will see former Black Cats boss Alex Neil return to the Stadium of Light after leaving Wearside back in August.

We’ll have all the build-up ahead of the match, as well as in-game analysis and post-match reaction.

Stick around and refresh the page for live updates throughout the day.

We’ll start with the Sunderland team news.

Dennis Cirkin is unlikely to feature in today’s match as he continues to recover from a concussion.

The defender knocked out in the process of scoring Sunderland’s equaliser against Millwall last month, and has continued to experience some symptoms despite initially recovering.

Cirkin has been making progress this week and may be available for next weekend’s trip to Norwich.

Lynden Gooch is also unlikely to be involved against Stoke following a knee issue, but may be ready for the match at Carrow Road in eight days time.

Niall Huggins is slowly returning to full fitness following a recent injury, while Corry Evans, Ross Stewart and Elliot Embleton remain out with long-term issues.

Here’s what Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray said when asked about Stoke and former Black Cats boss Alex Neil.

“He won’t be sitting on the back row of the bench,.

“Alex’s personality, without knowing him really close though I’ve managed against his teams a lot, I’m pretty sure he’ll be right on the edge of the touchline.

“I’ve been a manager who left clubs, but it was probably different the way that Alex left.

“There had been huge success, the team had been doing great, the players thought really highly of the coach but then one day he upped and left. I fully understand it would be difficult for the supporters to understand as well.”

“I know Alex’s teams and how intense they are and how combative they are; and we have to be ready for that.”

Stoke are 17th in the table, six months after Neil took charge, following a run of two wins in their last six league games.

To find out more we caught up with Angela Smith from BBC Radio Stoke on the latest episode of The Roar Podcast.

You can listen to the full episode here

Here’s what she said when asked how Neil is viewed at the bet365 Stadium:

“I think when he came in a lot of people questioned the timing because he was in a situation where he couldn’t get any players and very clearly said from the start that he thought the squad was unbalanced. I think he got a bit of credence and a bit of time through that.

“But if you don’t get results then people will start to think you are no good.

“He’s not had the impact that Stoke fans expected so I’d say at the moment there are a few fans who wouldn’t be bothered if he left the club, but there are a few fans who think he needs more time so it’s a very mixed response at the moment.”

Neil also confirmed key senior players Ben Pearson and Phil Jagielka are expected to be fit for today’s game, while Manchester United loanee Axel Tuanzebe could make his first league start for Stoke.

Neil is expected to receive a hostile reception from the home crowd after leaving Wearside to join Stoke back in August.

It came after the Scot had won promotion with Sunderland from League One via the play-offs the previous season.

Speaking to ITV ahead of this weekend’s Championship fixture, Neil said: “What’s incredible to me is that, obviously people will have their views on it, but they don’t know all the different dynamics and aspects of everything that goes on and what’s said and what’s not said.

“More importantly I think that for me I was as good for Sunderland as they were for me. The team couldn’t get out of League One for five seasons and I went and delivered that for them.

“I find it really bizarre now that I’m sort of painted the villain.”

During his pre-match press conference Neil also said that his spell at Sunderland was a ‘great time in his career’ and spoke of his respect for the Black Cats’ attacking threat.

Here are our predicted line-ups for today’s match:

Predicted Sunderland XI: Patterson, Hume, Ballard, Batth, Alese, Neil, Michut, Roberts, Amad, Clarke, Gelhardt

Predicted Stoke XI: Sarkic, Sterling, Wilmot, Jagielka, Tymon, Pearson, Laurent, Smallbone, Brown, Campbell, Gayle

“Unfortunately, we’ve lost a couple of games now, but I’ve been generally pleased with the level of performance.

“As I’ve mentioned before, each game is a learning curve for the team and I think we will get back to winning ways sooner rather than later.

“It’s been nice to have a clear week and work with the players on the training ground – we’re refreshed and ready to go again.

“I’ve been trying to utilise the squad recently due to the number of games we’ve played – we have to try and find a way to win while we’re missing some key players.

“Today’s game is a different challenge, but it’s great to be back at home in front of you, the supporters.

“Stoke have picked up some big results on the road and we know they pose a threat, but we’ll play on the front foot and try to cause them problems with our style of play.

“I’m sure it will be an intense football match – we’re going into it determined to pick up the three points.”