Man City vs. Sunderland: Head-to-head record and past meetings

Head-to-head record

Previous meetings: 149

Draws: 26

Manchester City and Sunderland have faced each other competitively a total of 149 times across all competitions, with the Citizens leading the overall head-to-head record having posted 73 wins to the Black Cats’ 50, while 26 draws have been played out between the two clubs.

In December 1899, Man City won the very first meeting on home soil by a 2-1 scoreline in the old Division One, before Sunderland came out on top in four of the next six encounters (D2).

Man City and Sunderland had their fair share of successes during their regular battles in Division One - and briefly Division Two - over the years, and there was little to separate the two teams, with the Citizens winning 44 times to the Black Cats’ 38 across a 99-game period up until 1998.

However, in the Premier League era (since 1992-93), Man City have been the dominant side in this fixture, as they have won 19 of their 28 top-flight clashes with Sunderland (D4 L5), scoring at least two goals in 16 of those victories.

Man City secured a 4-2 win over Sunderland at Maine Road in their first Premier League meeting in August 2000, courtesy of a Paulo Wanchope hat-trick and a goal from Alf-Inge Haaland - the son of Erling Haaland. However, the Black Cats got their revenge in the reverse fixture four months later, with Don Hutchinson scoring the only goal in a 1-0 victory at the Stadium of Light.

The Citizens then enjoyed a nine-game winning streak between December 2002 and December 2009, before Darren Bent converted a 90th-minute penalty to seal a 1-0 home triumph for Sunderland in August 2010. The Black Cats also won by the same scoreline the following season in January 2012 - one of just five defeats for Man City before lifting their first Premier League title in dramatic fashion.

Man City’s biggest victory over Sunderland, to date, took place in between those 1-0 wins for the Black Cats, with Roberto Mancini steering his team to a 5-0 success at the Etihad Stadium – Carlos Tevez, David Silva and Yaya Toure were among the goalscorers.

Toure also scored an important equaliser for Man City in an enthralling 3-1 comeback victory for the Citizens against Sunderland in the 2014 EFL Cup final at Wembley Stadium - one of eight wins (D3 L3) for City across 14 domestic cup meetings with the Black Cats (EFL Cup, FA Cup and FA Charity Shield).

Man City had won each of their last eight encounters with Sunderland in all competitions, but that streak was halted when the Black Cats held them to a goalless stalemate at the Stadium of Light on January 1, 2026.

Sunderland dominated much of the first half, and were unfortunate that goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was at the top of his game, though they could have easily lost the match in the second half were it not for poor finsihing from the Citizens.