It was Bristol City's first home game of the season in the reverse fixture when Alex Neil's Sunderland ran out 3-2 winners.
Plenty has changed since the beginning of August including the Black Cats' appointment of manager Tony Mowbray while three City players who started that game in goalscorer Chris Martin, Dan Bentley and Han-Noah Massengo, have all left the club.
While City's season has peaked and troughed over the last seven months, Sunderland's has gone from strength to strength and they head into the fixture harbouring play-off ambitions sitting fifth in the table. For the visitors, their revival in 2023 means Nigel Pearson's side will feel confident about putting a dampner to those plans.
