Sunderland V Stoke - view commentary, squad, and statistics of the game live.Poyet pleased with league breakGus Poyet is looking forward to a welcome break from the Barclays Premier League after joking he would kill himself if Sunderland did not pick up a victory soon.The 46-year-old head coach looked on as the Black Cats picked up a fourth point of the campaign from a 0-0 draw at Burnley on Saturday, their fourth draw in five league games to date, to leave him hugely frustrated.But he remained very much alive as he put the finishing touches to his preparations for Tuesday night's Capital One Cup third round tie against Stoke at the Stadium of Light and the chance to rekindle memories of last season's thrilling run to the final.Poyet said with a smile: "It's a good way to express how much we care and we like to win games."When you have an opportunity, we would like to take it and not lose chances because, of course, there is going to be a day when the opposition is going to be much better than you and even if we don't like to accept defeat, you need to be realistic."But listen, we are trying to forget about the league, if it's possible - I don't think it's 100 per cent possible - and concentrate on the cup knowing it's a one-off game and tomorrow night, you know where you are, if you are in or out of the next round."I like the cups, that's meI always enjoy cup games because they are like little finals
You are winning little finals to get to the final, and that makes special moments and very unique times and celebrations, goals in the last minute or penalty shoot-outs or whatever it is."It brings plenty of things to the group as well for the future."Last season's cup heroics - Sunderland eventually lost 3-1 to Manchester City at Wembley after taking a first-half lead - gave them real momentum as they staged a stunning late fightback to preserve their top-flight status.However, Poyet's squad has undergone significant change during the summer and in many ways, he is still trying to bed in the newcomers, of whom Costel Pantilimon, Billy Jones, Sebastian Coates, Will Buckley and Jordi Gomez will hope for a chance to impress against Stoke.Stoke boss Mark Hughes was unperturbed about his side being drawn into the verbal battle between Chelsea and Manchester City, according to his assistant Mark Bowen.City boss Manuel Pellegrini was dismissive of Chelsea's tactics at Etihad Stadium, branding the table-toppers a "small team" and likening their methods to those employed by the Potters in their surprise 1-0 win in August.It would be easy for Stoke to be unhappy about being used as the Chilean's benchmark for negativity, but Bowen insisted Hughes was happy to be compared to a side who are three points clear at the Barclays Premier League summit."Mark took it as a compliment
If Jose Mourinho went with the same tactics as us, we can't be doing a lot wrong," said Bowen."I don't think it was meant as a degrading comment to Stoke City."Pellegrini was maybe just protecting himself because it's been a while since they have won at home."At least he still remembers Stoke City - and I hope he remembers us the next time we play them as well."If he used the word 'team' it's nice to be called small because Stoke have been called a giant team in the past."The shock success in Manchester was Stoke's last win, having lost at home to Leicester and drawn 2-2 with QPR at the weekend.They have the chance to get back on track in the Capital One Cup third round on Tuesday night, where they face last season's beaten finalists Sunderland.The Black Cats have yet to win in the league this term, but saw off Birmingham City 3-0 in the previous round of the cup.Bowen said: "We have watched Sunderland a couple of times
They have had a similar start to us with a slow start at home but you only have to look at the players they have available to know it will be a tough game."The Potters are likely to make several changes for the match, with Jack Butland and Thomas Sorensen vying for Asmir Begovic's spot in goal and the likes of Robert Huth, Marc Muniesa, Oussama Assaidi and Stephen Ireland all looking for game time."We have a number of players eager to get a game and force their way into the team," said Bowen
Source : PA
Source: PA