Sunderland will face off against rival Stoke City on Saturday, placing two of the English Premier League's closely followed teams against each other.

Sunderland, coming out of a 0-0 tie with Swansea City, is expected to be the underdog of the match.

Sunderland manager Gus Poyet said he is relieved to be in charge of his team despite being only two points above Newcastle, the Daily Mail reports. 

"I had been told and now I know how difficult it is to be managing in the North-East,' said the Uruguayan, who marks one year in the job next week. It is a very special case where very passionate fans are on your side and everything is fantastic. On the other side, it is going to be an absolute nightmare," he said, according to the newspaper.

"So talking about myself, I am trying to keep them on my side the best I can and as long as I can. That is better when you win games and when you aren't you know what is coming and I can tell you it's not nice. I don't like it. I don't like to see a manager getting that."

Stoke City, coming out of a 1-0 win over Newcastle United, is expected to be the favorite of the match.

Stoke City manager Mark Hughes said he has not been in communication with Harry Redknapp over Peter Crouch, the Daily Mail also reports. 

"We are very happy to have Peter at the club, we didn't encourage any bids for our players," he said, according to the site.

"So if Harry did make a call it was not to me so it wouldn't have got very far. I have no idea no idea if they will revisit in January, possibly."

Watch the English Premier League match via live online streaming here:

https://www.livesoccertv.com/competitions/england/premier-league/