Sunderland face Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon.
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Jeff Stelling has backed Sunderland to extend their unbeaten run in the Premier League to five matches with a draw against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon.
The Black Cats make the long trip down to the capital off the back of a wholly impressive 0-0 stalemate with Manchester City on New Year’s Day, with Regis Le Bris’ men mustering a battling defensive display to preserve their clean sheet, while also threatening on numerous occasions at the other end.
For their part, Spurs were also held to 0-0 draw on Thursday, with head coach Thomas Frank subjected to the ire of his side’s travelling support after they failed to find a way past his old club, Brentford.
What has Jeff Stelling said ahead of Tottenham Hotspur vs Sunderland?
And speaking to talkSPORT ahead of this weekend’s game, Stelling has predicted another sharing of the spoils in North London. He said: “The last of the three o’clock kick-offs sees Spurs welcome Sunderland to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Spurs are still to persuade me they can finish above Sunderland this season, and their form at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, well, it regularly incurs the wrath of the home faithful. All Spurs’ home defeats though, have been by the odd goal.
“Sunderland, well they’ve got absentees haven’t they, with the African Cup of Nations - little short in terms of numbers, but not short in terms of spirit. I’m going Spurs 1-1 Sunderland.”
What did Regis Le Bris say about Sunderland draw vs Man City?
Reflecting on his side’s display against Man City, and how it differed from when the Premier League title contenders won 3-0 at the Etihad when the two sides met in early December, Le Bris told a post-match press conference: "One more good point against one of the best teams in Europe.
"With many threats, they can score from everywhere, from different phases. I think we defended well. We were bold to press high, a bit more consistent in the midblock, I think. In the defensive third, we were consistent. It was like a hybrid system. We used this system at Liverpool once. I thought it was a good option today, because if you drop too early in your back five, you can't face, over the full game, their ability to manage the ball and create chances. I think it went well. With the ball, I think we showed many good things as well.
"We struggled when we played away against City to escape their counter-press, they were impressive. They were good again today, but I think we were better this time. I think this point helped us to manage the ball and to breathe, because it's important to have the ball. We created chances as well. Our low build-up was good, especially during the first half.
"I think we are learning and I think from the first game against this team to the second one, we showed that we adjusted many things and I think it shows that those players are ready to learn and to change different things to be more competitive, which is really positive."
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Le Bris also praised his squad for stepping in and maintaining the level of performance despite having a large number of senior players absent due to suspension and AFCON commitments. He said: "I told you before the AFCON that we don't have to set a limit before because I think we have many good players.
"Obviously, they have to learn, they have to show their quality on the pitch. But what we see every day on the training pitch, they have good profiles and if you give them the structure, the confidence, great leaders, I think they can play well. For example, Dennis [Cirkin], Eli [Mayenda] today were good."