Sunderland could do something that hasn’t been done for 49 years vs West Ham
Sunderland are now just hours away from marking their return to the Premier League with a home clash against West ham United.
West Ham are the first side to visit the Stadium of Light in the Premier League in eight years, with a sold-out crowd ready for Saturday’s contest.
Regis Le Bris guided Sunderland into the Premier League via the Championship playoffs, although it is easy to forget now just how badly the Black Cats finished the domestic campaign.
That is something that Le Bris’ men will certainly be looking to put right this weekend against West Ham, who have not had the finest of pre-seasons.
Sunderland’s poor recent record at Stadium of Light
Sunderland are set to look like a completely different side for the visit of West Ham compared to their most recent competitive outing – the 2-1 win over Sheffield United at Wembley.
Those who remain from last season will need no reminding that Sunderland lost their last three home league games of the regular 2024-25 campaign by the same 1-0 scoreline.
As per Opta, Sunderland have not lost four league games in a row at the Stadium of Light without scoring since November 1976 – just a few months short of 49 years ago.
Those losses ultimately matter little now as Le Bris had a plan all along, which was to focus on the playoff semi-finals and final.
However, this clash with West Ham has an awful lot more riding on it and he will know the importance of stopping the rot.
Sunderland’s head-to-head record vs West Ham
Sunderland have failed to win any of their past eight league meetings with West Ham, albeit the most recent of those came back in April 2017 when drawing 2-2.
Across those eight winless games, Sunderland have lost four and drawn four.
- Sunderland are winless in eight league games against West Ham
- Four of those matches have ended in defeat, while four have been draws
West Ham also have a good record against promoted sides, losing just one of their past 17-such matches – a 3-1 defeat to Leicester City in December last season.
Overall, Sunderland have faced West Ham 92 times and have won 31 of those, with West Ham victorious 36 times and the other 25 ending all square.
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