Sunderland vs Stoke City Prediction: Sunderland has fallen from the top

Sunderland will welcome Stoke City at the Stadium of Light in Game Week 19 of the English Championship. Sunderland has fallen after sitting at the top in the initial few game weeks. Who will come out on top after 90 minutes?

If Sunderland had been presented with fourth place at this stage before the start of the season, newly-appointed head coach Regis Le Bris would have grabbed it on the spot. However, the North-East team's current position is only due to a winless streak of six matches, including five draws and one loss. Sunderland had two missed opportunities to win against Coventry City and Millwall by giving away leads, and their other three draws ended without any goals as Le Bris's team struggled in the attacking third. In their latest game, the Black Cats lost 1-0 to title contenders Sheffield United with Tom Davies scoring the winning goal seven minutes before the end. This loss came at a big cost for the Blades as it leaves them with a five-point gap above Sunderland within the standings, marking their first loss since September 28.

Patterson; Hume, Ballard, O'Nien, Alese; Neil, Bellingham; Roberts, Riggs, Watson; Isidor

Stoke City has featured in 13 games since Narcis Pelach took over, but doubts regarding his suitability have started to grow. The team has not been doing well with only three wins in this period and a recent 2-0 loss to Burnley. Other than a 6-0 win against Portsmouth, Stoke has not been able to score more than twice in a game under Pelach's management and has only kept three clean sheets. Trailing nine points behind the playoffs, Stoke now has a hard time getting into the promotion race until the end of the season.

Johansson; Wilmot, Phillips, Gibson; Tchamadeu, Seko, Burger, Bae, Bocat; Cannon, Manhoef

This match might become a close contest between two teams that are struggling to secure wins. Sunderland has an incentive to take more risks, which could result in a last-minute win at the Stadium of Light.