Poyet plays spy game ahead of Manchester City test

The Black Cats go into this evening’s match at the Stadium of Light buoyed by their performance against unbeaten leaders Chelsea on Saturday and the fact they haven’t lost to the Sky Blues on home soil since 2008.

Sunderland’s recent record against Manuel Pellegrini’s side is sure to give Poyet’s squad a psychological boost, but the head coach has sought extra help from the trio of former City players in his squad.

Costel Pantilimon and Jack Rodwell swapped the Etihad Stadium for Wearside in the summer, while Adam Johnson was also signed from the reigning champions two-and-a-half years ago, and Poyet believes their inside knowledge could be crucial as he attempts to guide his team to their third win of the season.

“That could work in our favour,” Poyet admitted. “They know about City. We talk about certain things and it is so much easier when you can confirm those things with these three players.

“When I try to convince them about Chelsea, I could not ask any of the players. They had to take my word for it. Now there are certain things I can confirm with my three players.

“You can say “Is that right?” “Is that what they do?” and “Is that the right idea?”

“City will not change just because we have Pantilimon, Johnson and Rodwell but it is good to get confirmation of what we are trying to say. And I can tell you that they have shared a bit of information with us. Every little bit helps.”

Pantilimon was in goal when Man City were beaten by Phil Bardsley’s first-half strike 12 months ago in what was Sunderland’s fourth successive 1-0 win over City, who will be without central defensive pair Vincent Kompany and Eliaquim Mangala this evening.

Darren Bent, Ji Dong-Won and Adam Johnson were the other three match-winners, and having seen his side draw blanks in four of their last six games, Poyet would take another narrow win.

He said: “I cannot explain four 1-0 wins, but it is nice to talk for once about a positive run because normally we are talking about negatives.

“It is incredible. I don’t know how and I don’t know why. I only remember two of them - the Ji goal, I remember watching on TV and could hardly believe that last minute goal in a game when they defended most of the time, and then obviously last year as well.

“We had 45 minutes of great football then in the second half, we defended for our lives. That shows how difficult it is and how unique it is.

“To have that result, you have to be spot on in many aspects but for us now, the challenge is to score. After what we did against Chelsea, we want to do something similar but with a goal. We need to get a bit better and we will see what happens. I will take another 1-0. That would be perfect. Absolutely perfect.”

The Wearsiders successfully stifled the threat of 11-goal Diego Costa on Saturday and they will have to go one better when they come up against 12-goal Sergio Aguero.

Poyet is mindful of the threat the Argentina international poses, but he believes Aguero’s threat is greater than the Chelsea striker’s.

“Sergio is as good but he is a different player,” Poyet said. “He is even more dangerous when you are attacking rather than when they are and that is a big task.

“It is about concentrating on a player when they are defending and we are upfield. That is when you have to be spot on because a clearance or a rebound, it could be a break and a one on one.

“We need to be alert. We have to concentrate because he can be so dangerous at any time. But it is a great challenge. That is why we are here and fought so hard to stay in the Premier League last season, so we can play against the likes of Aguero.

“It would be easier to play against a Championship striker but it is part of this year’s challenge.”

Poyet has no fresh injury worries ahead of the game, but the head coach hinted he may rest a couple of players after their exertions against Jose Mourinho’s men.

Sunderland: Pantilimon; Vergini, O’Shea, Brown, Reveillere; Cattermole; Johnson, Larsson, Rodwell; Wickham; Fletcher.