Sunderland vs. Manchester City: Date, Time, Live Stream, TV Info and Preview

Lost in the shuffle of a great Sunday of Premier League football is the fixture between Sunderland and Manchester City.

The Black Cats can actually make up some ground in the relegation fight with a result, whether it's catching up with Stoke City or creating some space between themselves and Crystal Palace at the bottom of the table.

Although it's going to be a nearly impossible task for Gus Poyet to avoid having the club go down, he's the breath of fresh air needed for Sunderland to take the necessary steps forward.

On the other side, Manchester City find themselves four points off the lead. Even after what has been a slow start, they remain right in the thick of the title race. But a loss against Sunderland would be a tough blow.

City will be without Vincent Kompany, via Rob Dawson, Stevan Jovetic and David Silva, via Rob Dawson of the Manchester Evening News:

That could be a big loss for the club. Its defense has looked lost at times without the Belgian at centre-back. It could be the equalizer that knocks down Manchester City down to Sunderland's level.

Here's a preview for this Premier League clash.

When: Sunday, Nov. 10, at 9:05 a.m. ET; 2:05 GMT

Where: Stadium of Light, Sunderland, England

Watch

TV: NBC Sports Network (US); Sky Sports 1 (UK)

Live Stream: NBC Sports Live Extra (US); Sky Go (UK)

Odds (courtesy of Bloomberg Sports)

Sunderland win: 18 percent

Manchester City win: 60.1 percent

Draw: 21.9 percent

Top Storyline: Will Manchester City Play Down to Their Competition?

Over the past couple of seasons, Manchester City have almost always played well against top competition. It's against the clubs lower in the table that they often have the most problems.

Last year, they lost to Southampton, Norwich City and Sunderland. Already this year, City have lost to Cardiff City and Aston Villa, while drawing against Stoke City.

Titles are often won and lost based on the results of fixtures like these.

In order to win the Premier League, you have to put an entire campaign together. That doesn't mean just showing up against Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham. That means taking the maximum amount of points off clubs like Sunderland, Hull City, Fulham, West Ham, Cardiff, etc.

If Manchester City want to be genuine title contenders, they have to demonstrate some consistency against weaker sides. The defense can't go to sleep and give up silly goals, while the attack has to be lethal in front of goal and not waste any chances.

Although Sunderland are firmly in the relegation zone, you can sense a change for the better after the arrival of Gus Poyet. The Black Cats won't be the pushovers they were under Paolo Di Canio. City will be burned if they take this game lightly.

Prediction

Even against what is suspect City back line, it's hard seeing where the goals will come from for Sunderland. They've scored just seven goals in their first 10 games, and the combination of Jozy Altidore and Steven Fletcher has yet to demonstrate any chemistry. Altidore in particular has been very poor.

Manchester City's striking duo, on the other hand, is hitting on all cylinders. Sergio Aguero is the more compact forward who can drop deeper toward midfield, while Alvaro Negredo is the more natural No. 9 who sits closer to goal. They complement each other very well and have combined for 12 goals so far in the league.

The City midfield will boss the game and snuff out any Sunderland counterattack. According to WhoScored, no club has had more possession than City.

Manuel Pellegrini will also have his players focused on the task at hand. There won't be the same kind of silly errors you saw against Cardiff and Aston Villa.

Manchester City 3, Sunderland 0