Sunderland’s honeymoon period is over: Stats show why recent form is more than a concern
Sunderland’s Premier League form has dropped off a cliff in recent months.
Sunderland fell to a 3-1 defeat against Fulham on Sunday, and while the result itself was a poor one, the performance was even worse.
Two chances aside, one of which was tipped over the bar by Bernd Leno and resulted in a goal kick, the Black Cats struggled once again to carve out chances and were made to pay by a clinical Fulham side.
But the concerns that stemmed from their recent defeat aren’t anything new. In fact, they’ve been there for everyone to see well before the end of the year.
Sunderland’s attacking numbers are a major concern
Safety was the goal at the start of the season for Sunderland, and despite having suffered three defeats in a row, they are still well on course to achieve that and more.
However, the concerns stem from just how much they have fallen off, with just three wins from their last 17 games in the Premier League.
And as for the reasons behind that, most of them go back to their lack of attacking threat.
Sunderland have scored just 28 goals this season, which is the third-fewest of any side in the top flight, while also having scored just six away from home.
Only Wolves have scored fewer on their travels.
But based on their xG created, which, in turn, leads to expected points, Sunderland are actually second-bottom of the Premier League, with an expected points tally of just 27, which is nine fewer than they have actually picked up.
The Black Cats have created just 24.7 xG from 27 games this season, which is 14.1 fewer than Leeds United, who are actually below them in the table.
Why have Sunderland dropped off, and how do they fix it?
It’s easy to pinpoint the issues on Regis Le Bris, and while you can’t take away the fact ther Frenchman has done an excellent job, this isn’t uncommon.
Last season, many put Sunderland’s drop off down to the fact they knew they were in the play-offs, but with the same thing having happened in the Premier League, maybe it wasn’t as intentional as first thought.
What’s also worth noting is that the Mackems had the worst attacking record in the top six of the Championship, showcasing that the lack of goals this season is a repeated concern.
The same thing occurred throughout his time at Lorient, where his side had an excellent start to the campaign, and slowly started to falter, not just in terms of results, but also performance.
Sunderland have no reason to sack Le Bris now, nor should they. However, next season will be the Frenchman’s chance to prove his long-term worth to the Black Cats.
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