Sunderland vs Fulham Preview
Sunderland have been tough to beat at the Stadium of Light recently and Fulham have drawn a lot of away games. Both sides will want a response after losing their Premier League openers and a draw is the best bet.
Key Stats - Cottagers Draw on the Road
- Sunderland are unbeaten in their last 3 home matches.
- Sunderland are winless in 5 consecutive games against Fulham.
- Fulham have drawn 2 of their last 3 away Premier League games.
H2H - Even Record
Sunderland have a 26-22 advantage against Fulham, alongside 20 draws.
Sunderland Know How to Get Points at Home
Regis Le Bris’ Sunderland have lost just one of their last five Premier League matches. The Black Cats are unbeaten in their last two at home, drawing 0-0 with Man United and beating Chelsea 2-1.
Sunderland were in positive form late in pre-season and won their final two matches. They secured friendly victories against Lens 2-0 and Rennes at home 2-1.
The Wearside team couldn’t maintain momentum and lost 2-1 at Ipswich. Nilson Angulo cancelled out Ipswich’s opener and Sunderland conceded again in the final minute.
Fulham Are Competitive Under Arbeloa
Fulham don’t lose many matches and are undefeated in five of their previous seven in all competitions.
The Cottagers looked decent in pre-season form and were unbeaten in two ahead of the new campaign. A 2-2 draw with Malaga was followed by a 1-0 home triumph over Stuttgart.
Alvaro Arbeloa’s outfit lost 3-2 against Chelsea at home in their Premier League opener. Fulham had 62% possession, 1.33 XG and goals from Josh King and Gonzalo Garcia couldn’t prevent the defeat.
The west Londoners responded positively and comfortably beat AFC Wimbledon 3-0 in the EFL Cup. Fulham dominated with 2.89 XG and Emile Smith-Rowe, Rodrigo Muniz and Gonzalo Garcia got on the scoresheet.
Predicted Starting Lineups & Team News
Sunderland (4-2-3-1): Robin Roefs; Thomas Meunier, Dan Ballard, Luke O'Nien, Reinildo Mandava; Noah Sadiki, Granit Xhaka; Trai Hume, Enzo Le Fee, Nilson Angulo; Brian Brobbey
Simon Adingra has an ankle injury and won’t feature against Fulham. Regis Le Bris explained that the winger has a few weeks left to recover and said:
“It's a relatively common ankle injury, but we know from the beginning that the diagnosis told us it's around six weeks. So, we are in the middle of those six weeks."
Fulham (4-2-3-1): Bernd Leno; Timothy Castagne, Calvin Bassey, Jorge Cuenca, Antonee Robinson; Sander Berge, Alex Iwobi; Oscar Bobb, Josh King, Cesar Palacios; Gonzalo Garcia
Midfielder Tom Cairney is unavailable with a long-term knee injury.