Sunderland Form
Sunderland have already guaranteed their place in the Premier League for next season. At the same time, they still have a chance of pushing for European qualification, as the gap to the European places is only three points. However, there are issues with converting chances, which has already become something of this club’s trademark, with the side scoring just 32 goals (only Nottingham Forest and Wolverhampton Wanderers have scored fewer). Even with such a blunt attack, Sunderland continue to pick up points and have suffered just one defeat in their last four league matches (two wins and one draw). It is worth noting that in the previous round, the team managed a surprise 2:1 away win over Newcastle United.
- The club have failed to win five of their last seven Premier League matches (one draw and four defeats).
- No more than three goals have been scored in seven of Sunderland’s last eight league games.
- The team have not scored more than once in six of their last seven Premier League matches.
Potential Sunderland Lineup (4-1-4-1)*
Melker Ellborg - Omar Alderete, Lutsharel Geertruida, Luke O'Nien, Trai Hume - Granit Xhaka - Habib Diarra, Shamsdin Talbi, Chris Rigg, Noah Sadiki - Brian Brobbey.
Defender Bertrand Traore, forward Romain Mandl and midfielder Joselin Ta Bi will miss the match through injury. Defender Daniel Ballard is a doubt.
Tottenham Form
While the players were away with their national teams, there were changes on the Spurs bench. Igor Tudor was sacked and replaced by Roberto De Zerbi. The club’s hierarchy took such drastic measures after a humiliating 0:3 home defeat to Nottingham Forest. Incidentally, that was their fourth consecutive home loss in the Premier League. Overall, the Londoners have now gone 13 straight league matches without a win (five draws and eight defeats). As a result, Tottenham have slid to 17th in the standings and are now just one point above the relegation zone.
- The club have conceded at least two goals in 10 of their last 11 Premier League matches.
- Both teams have scored in 10 of Tottenham’s last 12 league games.
- Away from home, the Londoners are without a win in six straight Premier League matches (three draws and three defeats).
Potential Tottenham Lineup (4-4-2)*
Guglielmo Vicario - Djed Spence, Micky van de Ven, Kevin Danso, Cristian Romero - Pedro Porro, Archie Gray, Mathis Tel, Pape Sarr - Dominic Solanke, Richarlison.
Midfielders Yves Bissouma, Wilson Odobert and James Maddison, as well as forward Dejan Kulusevski, remain out injured. Defenders Ben Davies and Rodrigo Bentancur are doubts, along with forward Mohammed Kudus (rehabilitation).
Who Will Referee the Match
Robert Jones (England)
Matches - 15 (Premier League, 2025/26);
Yellow cards shown (including second yellows) - 62;
Average yellow cards per match - 4.1;
Red cards shown - 0;
Fouls per match on average - 21;
Penalties - 20%.
* For each team, the starting XI from their previous match in this competition is listed.
