Overview
Sunderland of coach Regis Le Bris will sooner or later "cool down", and in fact, the home team of the Stadium of Light is showing signs of stagnation. "Black Cats" have now dropped out of the top 10, and have only won 1/6 of their most recent matches in the Premier League.
The only victory in that period took place in the most recent home match, when Sunderland defeated Crystal Palace 2-1 - an opponent in crisis. However, in round 23, they once again fell away from home, losing 1-3 to West Ham, a team also struggling for relegation.
However, Sunderland still has a chance to closely follow the European Cup group if they win their ninth victory in the Premier League this season in a late match. This will also be their third victory in their last 4 matches in all competitions, after just eliminating Everton from the FA Cup.
Although winning against Everton on penalties in the third round of the FA Cup is Sunderland's only away win in the last 8 away matches, the Stadium of Light fortress is still a great support. Le Bris and his students have not lost any home matches in the Premier League season 2025-2026.
Notably, after the Manchester United shock that defeated Arsenal last weekend, Sunderland is currently the only team in the Premier League still unbeaten at home. In the history of the league, the only newcomer team to have a longer home unbeaten streak in a Premier League season is Birmingham City in the 2009-2010 season (15 matches).
In the opposite direction, Burnley may have been satisfied with the 2-2 draw against Tottenham in the most recent round, but the way the match took place made them regret it. Being led 2-1 when the injury time was running out, Tottenham still managed to escape danger thanks to a header in the 90th minute by center-back Cristian Romero.
Burnley's unbeaten streak in the Premier League has extended to 14 matches, putting them at 19th place and almost closing their position in round 24. However, signs of recovery are appearing.
Burnley has been unbeaten in 4 consecutive matches in all competitions, drawing in all 3 recent matches in the Premier League and having 5 draws in the last 7 matches, after losing 7 consecutive matches from November 1st to December 13th.
Burnley once won Sunderland 2-0 at Turf Moor in August, but when playing away at Stadium of Light, they did not have much support. Burnley has only won 1/12 of their most recent away games here and is still waiting for their first away clean sheet of the season.
Personnel situation
Sunderland has revealed a clear gap when missing key midfielder Granit Xhaka in the match against West Ham. The former Arsenal player is predicted by Le Bris to have to rest for about 3 more weeks due to an ankle injury.
Xhaka continues to be on the treatment list along with Bertrand Traore (knee) and new signing Jocelyn Ta Bi (ankle). Meanwhile, Arthur Masuaku also has ankle problems but has now been loaned to Lens.
On the other side, Burnley welcomed positive news about the force. Coach Scott Parker confirmed that Zian Flemming and Joe Worrall have both recovered and are competing for a return to the squad. Both can benefit from the new "weapon" named James Ward-Prowse - the excellent free-kicker who just joined Burnley on loan from West Ham.
However, Parker said Ward-Prowse needs more time to regain his fitness after a long period of playing less at London Stadium.
However, Burnley still has a series of absences including Zeki Amdouni (knee), Connor Roberts (Achilles tendon), Mike Tresor (ankle), Josh Cullen (knee) and Jordan Beyer (ankle). Apart from these cases, the away team did not incur any further injury concerns compared to the previous round.
Expected lineup:
Roefs, Mukiele, Ballard, Alderete, Cirkin, Diarra, Sadiki, Hume, Le Fee, Talbi, Brobbey.
Dubravka, Humphreys, Esteve, Tuanzebe, Walker, Ugochukwu, Florentino, Pires, Edwards, Anthony, Foster.
The match between Sunderland and Burnley takes place at 3:00 AM on February 3rd (Vietnam time).
