Preview:Sunderland vs Wolverhampton Wanderers - prediction, team news, lineups

Still searching for their first Premier League victory of the 2025-26 season, basement club Wolverhampton Wanderers travel to the Stadium of Light to face Sunderland on Saturday afternoon.

The Black Cats and the Old Gold meet for the first time in a top-flight fixture since April 2012 when they played out a goalless stalemate on Wearside.

Match preview

Few would have envisaged newly-promoted Sunderland sitting inside the top half of the Premier League table with 11 points from their opening seven games heading into October’s international break, but Regis Le Bris’s new-look team are there on merit and have made a notable impression after eight years away from the top flight.

The Black Cats were second best in their most recent fixture against an out-of-sorts Manchester United outfit, though, producing an xG of just 0.71 in a deserved 2-0 defeat at Old Trafford and seeing their four-game unbeaten run come to an end.

Le Bris acknowledged after the game that his team’s performance in the opening half-hour, when both goals were conceded, was “not at the level expected”. Although switching to a back five improved their defensive stability, the defeat served as a reality check and laid bare the scale of the survival challenge ahead.

Sunderland have found it difficult to make a fast start to matches in the Premier League this season, as just one of their seven goals has been scored in the first half (14%) - a league-low ratio. The Black Cats have had 27 shots and 2.4 xG in the opening 45 minutes of matches this term, compared to 43 shots and 3.9 xG after half time.

Le Bris’s men will at least welcome a return to the Stadium of Light this weekend, as they have collected seven points from their three Premier League home matches this season (W2 D1). A win against Wolves would see them earn 10+ points from their first four home games of a top-flight campaign (adjusting to three points per win) for the first time since 1968-69 (10).

Although positives can be taken from Wolves drawing their last two Premier League matches with Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton & Hove Albion, they conceded late equalisers in both to remain the only top-flight team without a win after seven games this season.

A 94th-minute equaliser was conceded in a 1-1 draw at Spurs, a week before Jan Paul van Hecke netted in the 86th minute to help Brighton salvage a point by the same scoreline at Molineux before the international break.

Including a 3-1 home defeat to Leeds United, the Old Gold have now failed to win each of their last three Premier League matches after going 1-0 up. On only eight occasions has a team scored the opener in four or more consecutive games in the division without winning any, with Spurs the most recent of those who endured a five-game run in November/December 2023.

Despite their early-season struggles, all hope is not lost for Vitor Pereira’s side who are yet to be cut adrift at the foot of the table, with a win this weekend potentially enough to help them climb out of the relegation zone if other results go their way.

Wolves are preparing for their first trip to Sunderland since suffering a 3-0 defeat in the Championship in May 2018. In fact, the Old Gold have only won one of their last 10 away league encounters at the Stadium of Light (D3 L6) - a 3-1 Premier League victory in May 2011 under former boss Mick McCarthy.

Sunderland Premier League form:

L W D D W L

Sunderland form (all competitions):

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Wolverhampton Wanderers Premier League form:

L L L L D D

Wolverhampton Wanderers form (all competitions):

L L L W D D

Team News

Sunderland will be without injured quintet Habib Diarra (groin), Romaine Mundle (hamstring), Dennis Cirkin (wrist), Aji Alese (shoulder) and Leo Hjelde (Achilles), while Reinildo Mandava will serve the final game of a three-match suspension.

Omar Alderete and Noah Sadiki picked up respective muscle and ankle problems over the international break, but Le Bris has confirmed that it is “possible” for both players to be named in his starting lineup this weekend, with a late call to be made on the fitness of the Black Cats duo.

Daniel Ballard is available to earn a recall in defence if Alderete is not deemed fit to start, while 18-year-old Chris Rigg could play alongside Granit Xhaka in centre-midfield if Sadiki is not fully fit to feature.

As for Wolves, Matt Doherty recently underwent surgery on his wrist and he is set to remain in the treatment room along with Leon Chiwome (knee), while Hwang Hee-chan (unspecified) and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde (illness) are both doubtful. However, Toti Gomes should be ready to return after recovering from a bout of flu.

Wolves have not lost any of their last three games in all competitions (W1 D2) since Pereira switched from a back five to a four-man defence, so the Portuguese will likely stick with the same system this weekend.

Jorgen Strand Larsen is yet to score in five Premier League games this term and although Pereira has admitted that the striker is still nursing some pain in his Achilles, he is expected to lead the line one again and he could be supported in the final third by Jhon Arias and either Hwang - if fit - or Rodrigo Gomes.

Sunderland possible starting lineup:

Roefs; Hume, Mukiele, Ballard, Masuaku; Rigg, Xhaka, Le Fee; Talbi, Isidor, Adingra

Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:

Johnstone; Tchatchoua, S. Bueno, Krejci, H. Bueno; Munetsi, Andre, J. Gomes; Arias, Strand Larsen, Hwang

We say: Sunderland 1-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Wolves are desperate to get off the mark with a much-needed win in the Premier League and will have identified their trip to Sunderland as a real opportunity to claim maximum points.

However, the Black Cats have particularly impressed on home soil this term, and given the visitors have been lacking a cutting edge up front, we are backing the hosts to secure a slender victory.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.