Sunderland’s record vs relegation-threatened sides examined as make-or-break Nottingham Forest encounter awaits
Sunderland welcome Nottingham Forest to the Stadium of Light on Friday night as they look to boost their European hopes.
With three wins from the last five, the Black Cats are back in the form that earned them the praise at the start of the season, though frustrations are still high after the defeat to Villa.
Habib Diarra had a golden opportunity to seal all three points for Sunderland in the dying minutes, but his miss was then followed by the hosts scoring the winner 30 seconds later.
Regis Le Bris will be hoping for a similar attacking display against Forest, knowing how crucial a win could be for their chances of qualifying for Europe.
And based on their record against teams in a similar position, they will have hope.
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Sunderland must build on impressive Premier League record
The Stadium of Light has hosted an overwhelming majority of Sunderland’s wins this season, as have games against lower-placed opposition.
Of the 10 encounters that the Wearsiders have had against teams currently positioned 15th or lower, they have suffered defeat just twice.
| vs relegation threatened teams | Sunderland |
| Played | 10 |
| Wins | 6 |
| Draws | 2 |
| Losses | 2 |
One of them was an away clash with Burnley at the start of the season, while the other was a 3-0 loss away to West Ham.
The Black Cats have won six of the others, including all but one of them at home.
That was against Leeds United back in December, when Simon Adingra’s wonder striker was cancelled out by Dominic Calvert-Lewin in a 1-1 draw.
Their most recent one saw them secure a 1-0 win at home to Roberto De Zerbi’s Tottenham, with Nordi Mukiele scoring the only goal of the game.
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Sunderland can end bizarre top-flight hoodoo vs Nottingham Forest
Not that it will be a consideration made by Le Bris ahead of the game, though it makes for interesting reading nonetheless.
Sunderland have never won a Premier League game on a Friday night, having drawn two and lost the other.
It’s the only day of the week that the Black Cats have ever failed to take three points, and should they achieve that this weekend, they would become the 21st team in history to have secured a victory on all seven days of the week.
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