Sunderland defender Santiago Vergini believes that his side will have to alter their approach against Manchester City to avoid another heavy defeat in their Premier League match.

The Black Cats were hammered 4-1 by Manuel Pellegrini's men in their clash at the Stadium of Light in December, but Vergini is optimistic that he and his teammates have the ability to take a positive result from the Etihad Stadium.

He told the club's official website: "It will be a very tough game against a very good opponent. We played them recently and they beat us comprehensively so we need to adapt our game and try to pick up a positive result.

"We give the same importance to every game and we always try to take something from the game, because we want to pick up as many points as we can and a point or three is on offer at the Etihad.

"Hopefully we can start the New Year with a good performance and a good result."

Sunderland are 14th in the Premier League going into their match against City.