Head coach Regis Le Bris has called on his Sunderland side to bounce back swiftly after suffering a late defeat at Stoke City in which they frittered away big chances. The Black Cats take on Sheffield United, on Wednesday evening (8pm) in a huge clash at the Stadium of Light, hoping to put behind them the disappointment of losing so late in the Potteries.

They suffered a stoppage-time defeat as Tom Cannon’s low strike from 18 yards beat Anthony Patterson, ending their six-game unbeaten run. Despite creating several clear-cut chances, Le Bris’ side was left frustrated as Wilson Isidor and Adil Aouchiche both hit the post, while Eliezer Mayenda missed a header from six yards – more evidence that Sunderland lack a proven goalscorer.

Cannon then snatched victory two minutes into stoppage time in heartbreaking fashion for the visitors to inflict only a second defeat in 17 Championship matches on Sunderland. Speaking to safc.com post-match, Le Bris called on his players to regroup quickly and go again, with two crucial home games against Sheffield United and Portsmouth kicking off 2025.

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“In that situation, where you miss chances and you don’t score away from home, the home team keeps believing that it is possible to score and that is what happened," he said. “I thought we deserved to win but this part of the pitch is the most difficult area to get right.

“We created many chances and we tried but in the end a lack of precision, a lack of confidence, and some good saves from their keeper cost us. This league is a marathon. We didn’t have the clinical finishing we needed to have.

“We will keep going and we will be ready for a big challenge against Sheffield United at home. I am looking forward to playing that game at home with our fans and we will be ready.”

Sunderland have an incredible unbeaten home record this season having played 11 and won seven of those matches, including beating Stoke in that run, while last time out they beat Norwich City 2-1.

Chris Wilder’s Blades were the frontrunners for a spell but they lost their 100 per cent home record two games ago in defeat against Burnley before only managing a draw with West Bromwich Albion on Sunday. Their away record is excellent, though, as they are unbeaten in six on their travels, winning four times, including their last two fixtures, at Millwall and Cardiff City.