Sunderland lost 3-0 at home to rivals Newcastle in the FA Cup third round, so the Black Cats are one of only six teams involved in Championship fixtures this weekend.
They followed up their disappointing derby defeat to the Magpies with league losses against Ipswich and Hull and manager Michael Beale, who succeeded Tony Mowbray in December, is already under pressure.
Sunderland face a Stoke side who were outclassed by Brighton in the FA Cup, but who have taken eight points from their last four away games in the Championship.
Team news
Sunderland’s Abdoullah Ba could start on the right wing in place of Alex Pritchard.
Patrick Roberts, Ajibola Alese, Bradley Dack, Niall Huggins and Dennis Cirkin remain sidelined for the Black Cats.
Stoke’s Emre Tezgel and Josh Laurent are injured and Junior Tchamadeu is at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Frank Fielding and D’Margio Wright-Phillips will be assessed.
The stats
Five of Sunderland’s 12 league defeats have been by a 2-1 scoreline.
The Black Cats have lost four of their last seven Championship matches and none of their last 12 league games have produced over 3.5 goals.
Stoke have drawn five of their last eight matches in the Championship and seven of their last nine league games had under 2.5 goals.
The Potters have scored only 12 second-half goals in 28 league fixtures this season.
Prediction
Sunderland are favourites to claim a home win over Stoke, who kick off the weekend in 19th place in the Championship, but Michael Beale’s men are hard to trust at short odds.
They have lost three of their last four home games in all competitions, all of them to nil, and let slip a 1-0 lead to go down 2-1 at Ipswich in their first away fixture of 2024.
Stoke were beaten 4-2 by Brighton in the cup and 2-1 by Birmingham in the league in their last two home matches, but they held promotion-chasing Ipswich to a goalless draw on New Year’s Day and can pick up a point at the Stadium of Light.
The Potters have been competing well under former Plymouth boss Steven Schumacher, especially away from home.
They have won at Rotherham and Birmingham and drawn at West Brom and Watford in their last four road trips in the Championship.
Before that unbeaten run Stoke had conceded a 97th-minute goal to lose 2-1 at Plymouth and they are capable of frustrating a Sunderland side who have been heavily reliant on Jack Clarke for attacking inspiration.
LiveScore: Live Sport Updates