Stoke City vs. Sunderland team news as important players return and Alex Neil makes a pivotal decision in midfield

Stoke City vs. Sunderland team news as important players return and Alex Neil makes a pivotal decision in midfield

Stoke City face Sunderland in the Championship on Saturday

Stoke City’s Andre Vidigal, Ryan Mmaee, and Enda Stevens all return from injury to face Sunderland.

Ki-Jana Hoever and Michael Rose return from injury as Alex Neil makes five changes to the starting XI that lost to Leicester before the international break. Captain Josh Laurent, on the other hand, gets demoted to the bench in a major decision by the management.

In midfield, Ben Pearson, Wouter Burger, and Daniel Johnson start, while Vidigal and Mehdi Leris start either side of Mmaee up front. Going into the 12th match of the season, Mark Travers is the only player in the Championship with a perfect record.

Hoever replaces Stevens at right back, with Rose replacing Luke McNally in the middle. Despite the fact that Stevens, who joined Stoke in early July, is the club’s longest-serving starter, Hoever and Pearson were on loan last season and returned later in the summer.

Stoke City are expecting a crowd of around 25,000 as they aim to return to winning ways against Neil’s old club. Sunderland will be bringing almost 2,500 of their own fans.