Stoke City thumped Sunderland 5-1 in the Championship on Saturday.
The Potters claimed a resounding three points at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, with Alex Neil getting one over his former side in remarkable fashion. A goal from Josh Laurent, and two from both Tyrese Campbell and Dwight Gayle secured the win for Stoke, which takes them up into 16th place of the Championship table.
But the game also brought about some new injury concerns for Stoke City. Ben Wilmot was forced off in the first half before goalkeeper Matija Sarkic was brought off at half-time. Fellow January signing Ben Pearson was also brought off in the second half.
Neil told the club after the game:
“Ben’s was a poor tackle by all accounts, I haven’t seen it back so I can’t comment, but that’s what I’ve been told. And Sarkic looks like he’s got a problem with his quad, and then obviously Ben Pearson has to come off.”
The club says that all three will be assessed ahead of Friday’s Championship clash v Blackburn Rovers.
Another tough game…
A trip to Sunderland presented Stoke City with another tough outing, but they got through that one emphatically. And a home game against an in form Blackburn Rovers side is another tough assignment, potentially made more so by the amount of injuries that Stoke City picked up over the weekend.
Neil seems to be dealing with new injury concerns every week, but he showed on Saturday that he’s a manager who can really get a lot of out of his players. And after a tough season so far, Stoke could yet finish strongly with just four points now separating the Potters and the top half of the table.
A win over Blackburn could see Stoke City leapfrog the three teams in front of them.
