Darren Bent has painful memories of seeing Tottenham "beaten up" in
a bruising encounter at Stoke but the Sunderland striker is confident he can
get his own back on his adversaries at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday.
Bent saw Tottenham crumble last term in the face of Stoke's direct tactics but
he is certain that a similar fate will not await Sunderland if they stand up
to the set-pieces that became the cornerstone of survival for Tony Pulis's
team in their first Premier League season.
"I remember going there last season, I managed to get a goal but we ended
up going down two-one," Bent said.
"We got well and truly beaten up - the goalkeeper went down with concussion,
another player had stitches in his head and we had two players sent off.
"But we've faced Bolton and Blackburn who are similar sides, so as long as
the team stays strong we can turn them over."