Alex Neil has stated that he is ready to exploit Sunderland’s flaws this weekend.
In a Q&A with StokeonTrentLive, the manager stated he knows the players ‘inside and out’ and understands what they aren’t particularly good at.
Alex Neil left Sunderland for Stoke City 14 months ago, shortly after gaining promotion to the Championship.
The Scot reunited with his previous side in March, winning 5-1 on Wearside, and Sunderland are eager to exact revenge on their former boss this time around.
While Tony Mowbray’s side now rank fourth in the league table, 17 places above the Potters, Neil is upbeat and believes the match may be much closer.
“I’ve seen a lot of Sunderland. “I know all of their players inside and out,” Stoke manager Mark Hughes remarked.
“I know what they’ll bring and what they excel at. “I know what they might not be so good at.”But this is such a chaotic league that a lot of games are now determined by critical moments; whether you’re effective enough in those key moments to take chances while also making sure you don’t make any dumb or naive mistakes and don’t give any soft goals.
“I believe that’s what this game will ultimately come down to.”
That’ll certainly be what swings the game one way or another in terms of people maybe having one moment of real quality of someone making a mistake.”
Will Alex Neil claim the bragging rights once again?
Alex Neil isn’t wrong about having a strong grasp of our personnel, as he demonstrated when Stoke destroyed us eight months ago.
Sunderland’s devastating defeat to Middlesbrough, on the other hand, could motivate them. Mowbray’s team is quite excellent at bouncing back, so don’t be surprised if they come out firing at the bet365 Stadium.
While it could come down to a mistake or a soft goal, Sunderland will make certain not to be on the wrong side of that again.
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