Having produced a valiant display to hold Premier League leaders Chelsea to a goalless draw, Sunderland will attempt to repeat the heroics against holders Manchester City.

After closing the gap behind their title rivals to six points with an impressive triumph over Southampton, the Citizens will be keen to avoid any surprises at the Stadium of Light.

Things did not exactly start well for Sunderland this season as Gus Poyet’s men recorded just one win in first nine league fixtures, with 8-0 loss at Southampton the lowest point of their campaign.

Nevertheless, the Black Cats continued working hard and they eventually came good and climbed out of the relegation zone.

The 3-1 away triumph over Crystal Palace was followed by draws against Everton, Leicester and Chelsea, and chances are Sunderland would settle for another stalemate.

And having impressed to hold Chelsea to a goalless draw, the Black Cats are available at 2.75 (7/4) to extend the unbeaten run to five games.

Gus Poyet is still without Emanuele Giaccherini, Billy Jones and Patrick van Aanholt, whilst Sebastian Coates is rated doubtful.

Probable starting line-up (4-1-4-1): Pantilimon – Vergini, O’Shea, Brown, Reveillere – Cattermole – Johnson, Larsson, Rodwell, Wickham – Fletcher.

Manchester City largely struggled to keep up with the impressive Chelsea in the opening exchanges, while their Champions League campaign also got off to a poor start.

But, just as everybody expected the Citizens to crumble, they produced three very good performances in a row to get their season back on track.

The hard-fought triumph over Bayern Munich saw Manuel Pellgrini’s side remain in contention for a place in the CL knockout stages, while City also recorded two very important wins in the Premier League.

Back to back triumphs over Swansea and Southampton helped the Citizens close the gap behind leaders Chelsea to six points and they are now 1.53 (8/15) to see off Sunderland as well.

Manuel Pellegrini is sweating over the fitness of captain Vincent Kompany, who battles a hamstring injury, whereas Eliaquim Mangala is banned.

Meanwhile, David Silva, Aleksandar Kolarov and Edin Dzeko continue to miss out, although the Spaniard could return next weekend.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Hart – Sagna, Kompany, Demichelis, Clichy – Fernando, Toure – Navas, Nasri, Milner – Aguero.