Sunderland vs. Fulham: Head-to-head record and past meetings before Premier League clash

Sunderland claimed their first three points of the 2026-27 Premier League season with a 1-0 win over Fulham at the Stadium of Light on Sunday, August 30, 2026.

Substitute Wilson Isidor scored the only goal of the game in the 75th minute, tapping home from Thomas Diarra's cross just days after signing a new contract with the Black Cats.

It was a deserved victory for Regis Le Bris's side, who bounced back impressively after their opening-day 2-1 defeat to Ipswich Town.

Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at the head-to-head record and previous meetings between Sunderland and Fulham after their Premier League encounter on August 30, 2026.

Head-to-head record

Previous meetings: 69

Fulham wins: 22

Draws: 20

Sunderland wins: 27

Fulham and Sunderland have faced each other a total of 69 times across all competitions, with the Black Cats marginally leading the overall head-to-head record having posted 27 wins to the Cottagers' 22 after their 1-0 win in August 2026, while 20 draws have been played out between the two clubs.

January 1935 was the very first time that these two teams butted heads, with Sunderland beating Fulham 3-2 on home soil in the third round of the FA Cup.

The most recent encounter between both clubs not in the league also took place in the FA Cup in February 2023 when the Cottagers won by the same scoreline at the Stadium of Light in a fifth-round replay.

Both teams have won two FA Cup ties each against one another, but it was Sunderland who prevailed in the one and only EFL Cup tie to date, winning 3-0 at Craven Cottage in a second-round replay after drawing the initial tie 1-1 on their own turf.

In the league, Fulham and Sunderland had their fair share of successes during their regular battles in Divisions One, Two and Three over the years. The Cottagers won seven and drew four of their first 16 league meetings between 1949 and 1967, including a 6-2 home win in Division One in September 1958 - the biggest winning margin to date in this fixture.

The Black Cats responded in dominant fashion by coming out on top in 12 of their next 20 league encounters (D6 L2) with Fulham over a 17-year period, winning six games in a row across Divisions Two and Three between 1979 and 1988.

In the Premier League era (since 1992-93) Fulham and Sunderland have faced each other 23 times, and it is the former who have picked up 10 victories to the latter's six, with seven draws having also been played out.

Fulham won four of their first five Premier League meetings with Sunderland, including a 3-0 away triumph in September 2002 under Jean Tigana which was replicated just over nine years later under Mark Hughes. Sunderland eventually got their revenge, though, as they celebrated 3-1 and 4-1 victories at Craven Cottage in November 2012 and January 2014 respectively.

However, Marco Silva deservedly oversaw a 1-0 win in the top flight in November 2025, when Raul Jimenez did the damage late on, and the striker helped sink Sunderland once again in February 2026, scoring a brace as Fulham emerged 3-1 winners.