Sunderland vs. West Ham United: Head-to-head record and past meetings

Sunderland made a triumphant return to the Premier League on Saturday afternoon when they thrashed West Ham United 3-0 at the Stadium of Light.

The Black Cats made it back to the top flight via the Championship playoffs after eight seasons away, and their emphatic victory during the opening weekend will give them hope that they can become the first promoted team to avoid relegation since 2022-23.

Regis Le Bris's side showed ambition in the transfer market, and a number of their 11 signings - led by new captain Granit Xhaka - were involved in the matchday one win.

As for the Hammers, they endured a turbulent 2024-25 and they will be hoping for a calmer campaign under former Brighton & Hove Albion and Chelsea manager Graham Potter.

However, their losing start to the season could be a major psychological setback for the team that lifted the Conference League just a few years ago.

Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at the head-to-head record and previous meetings between Sunderland and West Ham.

Head-to-head record

Previous meetings: 93

Sunderland wins: 32

Draws: 25

West Ham United wins: 36

Sunderland and West Ham United have faced each other a total of 93 times across all competitions and it is the Hammers who marginally lead the overall head-to-head record, as they have won 36 games compared to the Black Cats’ 32, while 25 draws have been played out between the two clubs.

71 of those matches have been league fixtures and there has been very little to separate the two teams over the years with both West Ham and Sunderland racking up 25 wins, while the remaining 21 encounters ended as a draw, including their very first (0-0) back in April 1923 in the old Division One.

West Ham’s biggest league victory over Sunderland to date took place at Upton Park in October 1968 when Sir Geoff Hurst scored six goals in a thumping 8-0 win, and the Black Cats had to wait nine years to take revenge with their biggest win over the Hammers - a 6-0 home success.

Sunderland and West Ham have only ever butted heads four times in the FA Cup, with the Hammers winning third and fifth-round ties 1-0 in 1929 and 2001 respectively, either side of the Black Cats claiming a 3-2 fifth-round away win in a replay in 1992 after drawing the initial tie 1-1 on home soil.

In 1964, Sunderland won their first EFL Cup tie against West Ham by a 4-1 scoreline in the second round, but since then, they have drawn one and lost four of their last five encounters with the Hammers in the competition, most recently losing a third-round tie 2-1 at the Stadium of Light in 2010.

Since the Premier League was formed in 1992-93, Sunderland and West Ham have faced each other 31 times in the top tier of English football, and the Hammers (13) have the bragging rights in terms of wins over the Black Cats (eight).

Both teams have also briefly locked horns in the second tier in the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons, securing two wins each. Andy Reid scored a 90th-minute winner for Sunderland in a crucial 2-1 win in April 2005 en route to lifting the Championship title that season.

Before Sunderland's extended absence from the top flight, the two clubs locked horns in April 2017 when Fabio Borini netted a 90th-minute equaliser for the Black Cats in a 2-2 home draw with the Hammers, but that result was not enough to save David Moyes’s Black Cats from relegation.

The most recent meeting between Sunderland and West Ham took place on matchday one of the 2025-26 Premier League campaign - the Black Cats' first in eight years - and two fantastic headers from Eliezer Mayenda and Dan Ballard were topped off by a fine finish from Wilson Isidor in a 3-0 win for the Wearside club.