Stoke City welcome Sunderland in the Championship this weekend, pitting Alex Neil against his old side once again. There is one particular market in this second tier clash that we feel offers great value to punters, and we have selected it as our bet of the day.

Jack Clarke is Sunderland’s biggest star. After the club did well to hold onto their prized asset over the summer amidst several bids from Burnley, Clarke is continuing to show why he is so important on Wearside. And while the Black Cats have a lot of talented players in their ranks, no one shines as much as Clarke.

The former Tottenham Hotspur and Leeds United man has scored seven goals in the Championship so far, the joint-highest in the division, alongside Blackburn Rovers’ Sammie Szmodics and Southampton’s Adam Armstrong. Clarke is more than living up to the hype that was thrust upon him when he came through at Elland Road a few years ago.

He is playing with a great deal of confidence and he is unquestionably one of the best players in the league right now, if not the best.

Clarke is the driving force of Tony Mowbray’s attack and his creativity and skill allow him to get into great positions to score. It is also worth noting that he has been on penalty duty this term.

The winger and his team will be fired up for Saturday’s clash because they didn’t give the best of performances last time out against Middlesbrough, in which they were thrashed 4-0.

Luckily, Sunderland are still in a strong position as they sit fourth in the table. They will look to get back to winning ways against Stoke, with the added incentive to get one over on their former boss.

Clarke will be key if they are to come away with the three points, and we expect him to continue his fine form in front of goal in this one.