STOKE (4-2-3-1):

Haugaard 6; Bardsley 6, Cameron 5, Shawcross 7, Pieters 6; Whelan 6, Imbula 5; Shaqiri 6 (Diouf 77), Adam 7 (Muniesa 85), Arnautovic 6 (Walters 56, 5); CROUCH 8.

Subs (not used): Bachmann (gk), Wollscheid, Bojan, Joselu.

SUNDERLAND (4-1-4-1):

6 Mannone: Wasn’t at fault for Stoke’s goal and made a good first-half save as he tipped Crouch’s header around the post

6 Yedlin: Looked comfortable despite being up against the dangerous Arnautovic – his defending has improved markedly in the last few months

5 Kone: Should have done better when he appeared to lose the flight of the ball as Arnautovic drilled home Stoke’s opener

6 Kaboul: Should have been stronger against Crouch – although he was fouled in the incident – but defended well either side of that

7 Van Aanholt: Was Sunderland’s most dangerous attacker for large chunks of the game and continues to be a major influence

7 Kirchhoff: Held things together at the base of midfield once again and now looks much better in the latter stages of games

6 Borini: His work rate cannot be faulted and while he rarely threatened to score, his efforts for the team are commendable

6 Cattermole: Set the tone for Sunderland’s committed display in the early stages, but a number of his passes went astray

6 M’Vila: Provided the pass that led to the penalty, but was another player whose distribution regularly went awry

5 Khazri: Struggled to make an impression despite seeing plenty of the ball – his place is now under serious threat from Watmore

8 DEFOE: Single-handedly rescued a point as he first won the penalty and then converted it – ice-cool under the most intense pressure

Subs:

N’Doye (for Borini, 59): Didn’t make much of an impression from a withdrawn attacking role and is yet to convince in a Sunderland shirt 4

Watmore (for Khazri, 59): His pace and industry were a major factor in the closing stages – is it time for him to start against Chelsea? 7

Larsson (for Kirchhoff, 77)

(not used): Pickford (gk), Jones, O’Shea, Rodwell.

Man Of The Match: JERMAIN DEFOE – He might be 33, but he remains as clinical and effective as ever. If Sunderland survive in the next three games, it will probably be down to his efforts.