Sunderland

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Fourth-placed Sunderland came from a goal behind to beat Norwich 2-1 after the visitors were reduced to 10 men in the second half of a game which saw five bookings apiece.

Head coach Regis Le Bris told BBC Radio Newcastle: "It was another tough game. Our opponent played well, we expected that, they are a good team, they can press and defend. It was a good challenge for us.

"The game was unstable with many mistakes from both sides but in the end we found a solution to win so it's good for us.

"The game was a little bit crazy, (a team) has to manage it properly. The referee did what he thought was best.

"During the corner kick (from which Norwich scored) I think it's a question of mentality. We had a lack of energy during that part of the game and it changed the dynamic.

"If we want to win more games we have to be well-rounded and set pieces are very important for that.

"It's not a question of snapping your fingers, you have to work on it, to show your improvements, from corners we are probably better, from throw-ins we still have work to do.

"Jobe is so powerful, he has the good quality to affect the game, it's not a surprise to us, he did very well today."

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Sunderland might include Ian Poveda in the squad for Saturday's Championship match at home to Norwich City.

The winger, who joined on a free transfer from Leeds United in July, has managed just three substitute appearances this season before picking up a thigh injury in a 2-0 win over Derby County in October.

"Ian has trained for just over a week now, so he's in really good shape," Black Cats head coach Regis le Bris told his pre-match media conference., external

"He's not ready to play a full game, but he can be a substitute."

In the past three years Colombia international Poveda has also had loan spells with Blackburn Rovers, Blackpool and Sheffield Wednesday but only made 22 league starts.

Sunderland are fourth in the Championship, two points short of the automatic promotion places, before the weekend meeting with the Canaries.

Sunderland are aiming to maintain the pace in the race for promotion as they host Norwich on Saturday.

The Black Cats are seeking to make it 11 home games unbeaten this season while the Canaries are winless in seven league games since September.

• Sunderland have lost just two of their past seven league games against Norwich City (W4 D1), though one of those defeats came in their last such meeting against the Canaries back in March (1-0)

• Norwich City have lost just one of their past six away league games against Sunderland (W2 D3), despite only scoring more than one goal in just one of those matches

• Sunderland are the only side in the Championship so far this season yet to concede a goal from a corner

• Norwich's 21 games in the Championship this season have seen 3.24 goals scored on average – the highest tally in the competition

• This season in the Championship, Norwich hold the best shot conversion rate of any side in the competition (15.3%); a tally substantially ahead of second-ranked Watford (11.9%)

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One of Sunderland's most successful academy graduates has heaped praise on the club's latest crop of emerging young talent.

Chris Rigg has started 19 of Sunderland's 21 league games, despite only turning 17 in June, while 18-year-old Tommy Watson started six straight games before missing Saturday's trip to Swansea through injury, scoring both goals in a 2-1 win at Stoke earlier this month.

Fellow academy graduate Dan Neil was installed as club captain this season while Anthony Patterson owns the number one shirt and Zak Johnson, Harrison Jones and Trey Ogunsuyi have also been part of the first-team squad this season.

Sunderland-born Gary Owers came through the Black Cats academy in the 1980s and went on to make more than 300 appearances for the club, including the 1992 FA Cup Final.

He later joined Bristol City and, after a spell in management, currently works as a summariser for BBC Radio Bristol.

Owers told the Sunderland website, external: "They are brilliant young talents. I think it's great for the club as they've built a reputation for producing young players.

"More importantly I think it's great for the supporters who really associate with young players coming through. They play without any fear.

"Hopefully we can keep them because often at this level, anyone that shows any signs of talent often leaves."

He added: "Sunderland belong in the Premier League, they've got unbelievable support.

"The manager (Regis Le Bris) has come in and had an impact. Hopefully they can keep that momentum and it can take them all the way to the end of the season so the fans can celebrate."

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Sunderland captain Dan Neil said he is beginning to show his true form after admitting to a slow start to the season.

The midfielder scored the equaliser on Saturday as the Black Cats came from 2-0 down to win 3-2 at Swansea.

"All three of my performances this week have been a lot better - (I'm) trying to be on the front foot and take the game by the scruff of the neck," he told BBC Radio Newcastle.

"I know deep down I didn't start the season well - footballers know when they are playing well and when they're not but for me its about sticking to the processes and my routine. Eventually you rise up and start playing better and I think that's starting to show now."

Neil's comments come after recent criticism from some sections of the Sunderland support but the 23-year-old says it has taken him time to adjust under new boss Regis Le Bris, having been handed the team captaincy.

"I've got a new role this year in terms of leadership and in the formation of the team so I started a little bit slow but I'm getting used to it every week.

"In recent years I've started seasons really fast and almost tailed off a bit so I'm hoping it's the opposite this year and when we get to the business end I'm firing on all cylinders."

Sunderland are fourth in the Championship and host Norwich City on Saturday.

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Swansea City come into the game against Sunderland having climbed up to ninth place on the back of a four-game unbeaten run.

Sunderland have drawn six of their past eight Championship matches.

• Swansea City have won five of their past six league games against Sunderland (D1), while they have lost just two of their past 22 league matches against the Black Cats (W11 D9).

• Sunderland have won just one of their past 11 away league games against Swansea (D4 L6), a 4-2 victory in the Premier League in January 2016 which saw Jermain Defoe net a hat-trick.

• 11 goals have been scored in Swansea's past two home league games (5 for, 6 against – D1 L1), as many as in their previous eight such games (7 for, 4 against – W3 D3 L2).

• Sunderland have failed to score in three of their past four away league games (D3 L1), as many as in their previous 13 such games (W6 D1 L6).

• Liam Cullen has scored in each of his past two home league games for Swansea City – the last Swans player to net in three in a row was Ollie Cooper in October 2022.

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Former Sunderland defender Gary Bennett believes the Black Cats need to start playing "uglier" if they are to reignite a winning streak.

Tuesday's 1-1 draw with Bristol City, in which Patrick Roberts rescued a stoppage-time point, was Sunderland's sixth draw in their past eight Championship games.

"Sometimes you've got to learn how to win ugly," Bennett said on BBC Radio Newcastle.

"We are just looking for that so-called perfect goal, aren't we? Where we can walk the ball into the net, or it's a flick, or it's a volley.

"It's not an ugly goal like what Bristol City scored."

The Robins took a 1-0 lead in the 68th minute after defensive blunders provided Luke McNally the opportunity to score.

Roberts found an equaliser in time added on to preserve the side's unbeaten record at home but Bennett feels that the team's niceties are proving too costly.

"Clear the ball," he said, regarding the Robins' goal. "We are too nice. We had three options to clear that ball and it ends up in the back of the net."

You can listen to the full post-match reaction on BBC Sounds.

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Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris says players returning from injury before Tuesday's Championship match against Bristol City is a "good problem" to have selection-wise.

Saturday's 2-1 win over Stoke City at the Stadium of Light was the Black Cats' first victory in seven matches and with defender Dennis Cirkin returning to the squad at the weekend, Le Bris is happy with the options he has available to him.

"It's a good problem for me to have good players in the same area, where they can push each other," the Frenchman told BBC Radio Newcastle.

Former West Ham academy product Aji Alese has deputised in Cirkin's absence and Le Bris says competition for places will benefit his side, who have the chance to climb back into the automatic promotion places in midweek.

"When we have a suspension or injuries, we still have a good back four," he added.

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Sunderland's 2-1 victory over Stoke City on Saturday ended a six-match winless run in the Championship and keeps them within two points of the automatic promotion places.

The Black Cats are one of four Championship sides yet to beaten at home.

Only six sides have more than Bristol City's three away victories in the Championship this season, a record which has them ninth in the table.

But the Robins have lost their past two away games at Watford and Portsmouth respectively without scoring a goal.

• Sunderland have won just three of their past 17 league games against Bristol City (D8 L6), failing to score on nine separate occasions during that run, including in both of their matches last season.

• Bristol City have lost just one of their last nine away league games against Sunderland (W3 D5), a 2-0 defeat in December 1994.

• Sunderland are unbeaten in five midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) league games (W2 D3), conceding just one goal in this run.

• Bristol City have only won three of their past 18 midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) away league games (D4 L11).

• Bristol City's Liam Manning has only lost one of his four managerial league games against Sunderland (W2 D1), a 2-1 defeat with MK Dons in August 2021 in League One.

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Sunderland winger Tom Watson was described as a "well-designed gift" by his boss after scoring his first two goals for the Championship high fliers to help beat Stoke City on storm-hit Wearside.

Watson drilled a low shot for his side's seventh-minute equaliser and got a deflected 86th-minute winner to keep fourth-placed Sunderland within two points of leaders Leeds - and earn a first victory in seven matches.

Having made his first Championship start for Sunderland only in November, 18-year-old Watson has quickly established himself in the absence of the injured Romaine Mundle.

And, having also been denied both by the post and Stoke keeper Viktor Johanssson, on another day he might even have had a hat-trick.

"Players need time to adapt," said Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris. "But, so far, Tommy has developed very fast.

"Now he will face the difficulties every player has to face, such as consistency and needing to defend as well. There are many things to develop.

"It was an interesting game for him. When you have a winger with the ability to run inside and outside and cross, it's a gift for a coach and a team.

"He works well. The system is well designed for him. We can use him very quickly and play to his main strengths.

"He's powerful, he can dribble, he can move inside and outside and he scored. He's very strong, a very good winger in this league."

Sunderland now face another home game, against Bristol City on Tuesday, and Le Bris hopes for a bit more kindness from the elements.

"With the weather, it was difficult," he said. "But we deserved to win.

"We had many chances to score and we had to wait until the end. But we didn't give up and this was the most important thing."

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Sunderland looked virtually unstoppable until November - but the early-season front runners have now dropped to fourth place after failing to win any of their six games during the past month.

The Black Cats, who were beaten 1-0 by new leaders Sheffield United last weekend, need to rediscover the winning habit at home to Stoke City as they bid to make up ground.

Stoke, who are 14th in the table, began last month with successive wins against Derby and Blackburn but have since lost momentum, registering three consecutive draws prior to a 2-0 defeat against Burnley.

● Sunderland have lost four of their last six league games against Stoke (W2), losing those matches by a combined score line of 12-3.

● Stoke have won two of their last three away league games against Sunderland (L1), as many victories as across their prior 24 such matches combined beforehand (D9 L13).

● Sunderland are one of only three sides without a win in the Championship since the start of November (D5 L1), with the Black Cats scoring the joint-fewest goals in that time (3).

● Stoke are winless in their last four league games (D3 L1), and could fail to score in three successive league matches for the first time since November 2023.

● Only Sheffield United (65 minutes 01 seconds) have been trailing for less time in the Championship this season than Sunderland (104:37). The Black Cats have only gone behind in one home league game this season, a 2-2 draw with Leeds in October.

Image source, BBC Sport

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Sunderland host Stoke City in the Championship on Saturday (kick-off 12:30 GMT).

Here's a recap of the main lines from Black Cats boss Regis Le Bris' pre-match news conference:

• Defender Dennis Cirkin is available after being ruled out of the past three matches due to a wrist injury.

• On Chris Mepham's suspension: "The back four is a big strength for us because we have many options, even with suspensions or injuries. It's the rules, and we have to deal with the rules."

• On converting their chances: "It's the only focus we should have at the minute - how we can create more chances and how we can convert the chances we have to score. I think we have the potential, and I think we have the players in the team to do it."

• He feels that the solution is within the team and not in the transfer window: "We talked a lot about a striker at the beginning of the season. We said if we don't have a striker, we can't score, but so far we've scored 26, so it's possible to score with other players."

• He spoke about last week being "emotionally intense" and it being important to recover.

• On getting back to the top of the table: "This league is not finished. It's very long, so you can struggle for a short period, which was the case, I think. But the foundations are good, so we have to believe in it."

• On Stoke: "We face them three times in one month, so by the end, we will be best friends, I think - we will see with the results. Tough game; a good team with good players."

• On the fans and their impact: "They deserve to have positive emotions, and we need them to give back. Sometimes it's like a circle; it can be vicious, or it can be the opposite. So we can create a new positive dynamic with just one good result."