Alex Neil will return to the Stadium of Light on Saturday, as he leads his Stoke City side into battle against former club Sunderland in a Championship contest.
A tough run of form has seen the hosts drop to ninth spot in the table, while the Potters sit 17th, nine points worse off than their newly-promoted opponents.
Match preview
© Reuters
After winning promotion back to the Championship last season under the management of Alex Neil, who would depart for Stoke City in August, Sunderland now find themselves in the midst of the playoff race in England's second tier under Tony Mowbray.
The Black Cats moved into a strong position in the fight for top-six places thanks to a positive run between mid-January and mid-February, as they earned 10 points from a run of four league matches, courtesy of 2-0, 1-0 and 3-0 wins over Middlesbrough, Reading and Queens Park Rangers respectively as well as a 1-1 draw away at Millwall, before only being pegged back in the dying minutes at home to Bristol City, as Nakhi Wells drew their visitors level at a goal apiece from the penalty spot deep into injury time.
Following that late disappointment, Mowbray's men have been unable to bounce back in two attempts, firstly travelling to take on strugglers Rotherham United and suffering a 2-1 defeat, with Joe Gelhardt's goal around the hour mark not enough to inspire a turnaround at the New York Stadium, before they most recently took on Coventry City away from home last Saturday.
After Jamie Allen put the Sky Blues ahead in the first half, Viktor Gyokeres doubled their lead in the 89th minute, and Amad Diallo's injury-time goal came too late to pull Sunderland back into the game, with the visitors succumbing to an 11th Championship loss of the campaign.
Such a dip in form has seen the Black Cats quickly drop to ninth spot in the playoff fight, and with the gap to Luton Town in the top six now extended to five points, they will know that they must quickly return to form to avoid losing any further ground before the run-in.
© Reuters
They welcome a former boss who is keen to get one over on the Black Cats and a Stoke City side looking to end a run of inconsistency and improve on their current position in 17th spot in England's second tier.
Since taking over in late August, Neil's tenure in Staffordshire has largely been defined by inconsistency, with the Potters having won four and lost six of their 13 league matches since the return from the World Cup break.
That trend continued in February, and Stoke come into the weekend's trip on the back of two victories and two defeats in their last four second-tier matches, with impressive 3-0 and 3-1 victories over Huddersfield Town and Swansea City followed up on both occasions by 1-0 losses at the hands of Blackpool and Millwall.
The Potters were most recently in action on Tuesday, when they entertained top-flight Brighton & Hove Albion in the FA Cup round of 16, but Neil's side were unable to progress as Evan Ferguson's goal on the half-hour mark made the difference for the visitors.
Now with their focus fully on the league, with the Potters sat 17th and six points outside of the top six, they will be keen to build a run of results starting at the weekend to inspire a climb up the division in the final months of the season.
Team News
© Reuters
With key forward Ross Stewart sidelined for the remainder of the season, and Ellis Simms's loan spell from Everton having been cut short, Sunderland will again be reliant on Joe Gelhardt to lead the line, with the Leeds United loanee having opened his account for the club in the eventual defeat to Rotherham after arriving late in the January transfer window.
He should again have plenty of support from the trio of Jack Clarke, Patrick Roberts and Amad Diallo, with the latter boasting eight league goals since joining on loan from Manchester United in the summer, while Clarke has also excelled with seven goals and six assists to his name in England's second tier so far this term.
Elsewhere, Edouard Michut should again join Dan Neil at the base of midfield, while Danny Batth and Dan Ballard will again partner up in the middle of the back four.
Nick Powell should be Stoke's only absentee, and even without him, competition for places in midfield is rife, with Lewis Baker, Jordan Thompson, Josh Laurent and loanees Ben Pearson and Will Smallbone all fighting to feature in the central trio, and Baker is certain to take one of those places.
Neil also has options in attack, with Tyreece Campbell and Jacob Brown leading the line against Brighton while Dwight Gayle and Bersant Celina are vying to come back in from the outset this weekend.
Elsewhere, Matija Sarkic should retake his place in goal after Jack Bonham came in for the cup tie, while veteran Phil Jagielka will hope to return to the middle of the defence, although Neil may stick with the pairing of Ben Wilmot and Axel Tuanzebe.
Sunderland possible starting lineup:
Patterson; Hume, Ballard, Batth, Alese; Michut, Neil; Roberts, Diallo, Clarke; Gelhardt
Stoke City possible starting lineup:
Sarkic; Sterling, Wilmot, Tuanzebe, Hoever; Baker, Laurent, Pearson; Brown, Gayle, Celina
We say: Sunderland 1-1 Stoke City
Although Sunderland have enjoyed the better season thus far, the Black Cats are far from their best at present and we can only envisage a share of the spoils at the Stadium of Light.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
