Match Preview: Brentford v Sunderland | OneFootball

Brentford host Sunderland at Gtech Community Stadium in the Premier League on Wednesday (7.30pm kick-off GMT), live on Sky Sports.

The Bees have picked up 10 points from the last 12 available while Régis Le Bris' side are unbeaten in their last five outings.

Analysis, team news, match officials and more. Here's everything you need to know ahead of the game.

Pre-match analysis

Stephen Gillett, Playmaker Stats: Brentford's firing attack v Black Cats' sturdy backline

Neck-and-neck in the table and a point off the European places, Brentford and Sunderland clash this Wednesday at the Gtech.

Promoted from the Championship courtesy of a fairytale Wembley comeback in May, Régis Le Bris’ Black Cats have defied expectations by spending the entirety of the campaign in the top half of the division.

Yet to lose a game they have led this term, the Mackems have proved a tough nut to crack - especially at the Stadium of Light, where they boast one of the Premier League’s two unbeaten home records (leaders Arsenal with the other).

Le Bris has expertly moulded a raft of summer signings into a gritty and organised outfit, their resilience evidenced by 13 of their league points having been earned from losing positions. Only Unai Emery’s resurgent Aston Villa (18) have come from behind to win more.

The Black Cats, however, will have to tame an in-form Brentford side that has also excelled on home turf this season. At home, the Bees (20 goals) have outscored all of their Premier League peers aside from Arsenal and Manchester City (26 apiece), and their 1-0 defeat to the latter remains their solitary loss at the Gtech.

Fresh from his sensational hat-trick against Everton last weekend, the Bees’ no.9 Igor Thiago has plundered 14 goals in 20 top-flight fixtures this season and, collectively, the west Londoners boast the best shot conversion rate (16.16%) in the division. After two more goals on the break in Merseyside, Brentford (8) have now scored more goals on the counter attack than any team across UEFA’s top five leagues.

On paper, therefore, the game is shaping up as a fascinating battle between Brentford’s attacking firepower and the Black Cats’ well-drilled backline.

Although only Wolves, Nottingham Forest and Burnley have scored fewer goals than the Wearsiders (21) this term, only the Premier League’s top two have conceded fewer goals than the Black Cats (19), who have kept seven clean sheets.

In this respect, Sunderland’s 22-year-old goalkeeper Robin Roefs deserves special mention. Signed from Eredivisie club NEC in the summer, the Netherlands Under-21s international has made a big impact between the sticks, with no Premier League goalkeeper having made more saves than Roefs (69), who also boasts the best save percentage (78.2%) in the top flight.

The Mackems are one of only three Premier League teams yet to concede a goal from a penalty this season, along with Arsenal and Chelsea. This owes much to their goalkeeper, too, as Roefs pulled off a fantastic penalty save from Brentford forward Kevin Schade when Sunderland came from behind to win the reverse fixture 2-1 back in August.

The prospect of a fascinating midfield battle between former Sunderland academy graduate Jordan Henderson and Granit Xhaka, profiled in the matchday programme, is also something to look forward to.

One of the signings of the summer, the Black Cats captain has been simply outstanding this season. Only Bruno Fernandes and Rayan Cherki (both seven), and Jack Grealish (six), have more assists than Xhaka (five), and Bees head coach Keith Andrews will look to knock the Swiss dynamo out of his stride wherever possible.

Both sides have upset the applecart by flirting with the top six - could either of them mount an unlikely Champions League bid?

Scout report

Dan Long, Sky Sports: Sunderland's extraordinary season

There is no doubting Sunderland’s first order of business in their first Premier League season since 2016/17 was to survive. The Black Cats had been down to League One and back since then, so while returning to the top table of English football was huge - managing to stay there beyond this season will be bigger.

And even to say they are well on their way right now would be doing Régis Le Bris and his players a monumental disservice.

They are eighth in the Premier League - below Brentford on goal difference - and only four points separate both clubs from Liverpool in fourth. They are already 16 clear of West Ham in 18th.

It is an extraordinary undertaking by a newly-promoted team, made even more impressive by the significant player turnover - 13 in permanently plus two on loan; five sold, several more loaned out. Few, if any, have done it like this.

The Stadium of Light and the Sunderland fans were always going to have a part to play this season - and the incredible start has, as expected, been rooted in an impeccable home record.

Sunderland are one of only two Premier League sides yet to lose at home; they won their first two there, held Arsenal to a 2-2 draw on 8 November, thanks to Brian Brobbey’s 94th-minute equaliser, and - most importantly of all - beat Newcastle in the Tyne-Wear derby on 14 December.

It could be argued Le Bris’ side always had to have a start like this as their summer transfer business included the signing of six players who would go on to be selected for AFCON 2025: Bertrand Traoré (Burkina Faso), Arthur Masuaku (DR Congo), Noah Sadiki (DR Congo), Chemsdine Talbi (Morocco), Reinildo Mandava (Mozambique) and Habib Diarra (Senegal).

Those players departed for international duty on 15 December and Sunderland drew the next two against Brighton and Leeds.

Still, 28 points up to the end of 2025 was enough to surpass the points totals they achieved in the entirety of the relegation seasons of 2002/03 (19), 2005/06 (15) and 2016/17 (24).

Over the last five campaigns, the team that has finished in 17th has picked up between 32 and 39 points, which Sunderland - now on 30 points - should surpass at a canter, most likely in a month or so’s time.

In the Dugout

Régis Le Bris

Régis Le Bris had a pretty low-key playing career as a defender between 1994 and 2003, playing for Rennes and Laval in France and Ronse in neighbouring Belgium. He played for France up to U17 level, too, and retired at the age of just 27.

The Frenchman was a qualified coach by the following year and, in 2006, received his doctorate in sports physiology and biomechanics. He went on to return to Rennes, where he stayed until 2012 in a coaching capacity, before moving on to Lorient.

He was Les Merlus' head of youth development for three years, then replaced Franck Haise as Lorient B chief. In 2021/22 - Le Bris' final campaign in charge - he guided the team to second place in the Championnat National 2 - Group A. Once he had completed his UEFA Pro Licence, he was appointed as the club's first team head coach in June 2022.

Lorient finished 10th in Ligue 1 in 2022/23 but, in the following season, finished 17th, which resulted in relegation to Ligue 2 after four seasons in the top flight. Le Bris left the club by mutual consent in June 2024 and signed a three-year deal at Sunderland the very same day.

After guiding the Black Cats to promotion back to the Premier League, he signed a fresh three-year deal in August, which runs until the summer of 2028.

Team news

Andrews provides availability update

Keith Andrews was asked about the availability of his squad ahead of Wednesday night's Premier League game against Sunderland.

“It’s been a busy period of fixtures – that’s the nature of Christmas and New Year,” said Andrews.

“We’re probably as we were. It’s pretty similar in terms of bodies and people available. There’s nothing new to report, really.”

Josh Dasilva (knee ligament) remains sidelined, while Fábio Carvalho and Antoni Milambo will both miss the rest of the campaign due to ACL injuries.

Frank Onyeka and Dango Ouattara are also unavailable due to their involvement in the Africa Cup of Nations with Nigeria and Burkina Faso, respectively.

The Gameplan

With James Hunter

Sunderland writer, columnist and podcaster James Hunter explains how the Black Cats may be set up to take on the Bees.

"Régis Le Bris has been quite flexible," he told us earlier this week.

"Sometimes, he has played 4-2-3-1, other times, he has played 4-4-2 or a back five. My feeling is that he will play with a variation of a back four with two strikers, just because that is how he tends to get the best out of the players at his disposal.

"He tends to be very much horses for courses, so whatever he thought was appropriate against Brentford back in August, he will probably do something similar again, I would guess."

Last Premier League starting XI v Tottenham (4-4-2): Roefs; Geertruida, Mukiele, Alderete, Cirkin; Hume, Xhaka, Le Fée, Adingra; Mayenda, Brobbey

Match Officials

Donohue to referee Black Cats clash

Referee: Matthew Donohue

Assistants: Wade Smith and Steven Meredith

Fourth official: Robert Jones

VAR: John Brooks

Matthew Donohue will be the man in the middle for Wednesday night's game against Sunderland.

The Greater Manchester referee will be taking charge of his fourth Premier League fixture. Two of the previous three matches also involved the Bees, the most recent of those being December's 2-0 win against Wolves.

In 2025/26, Donohue has had the whistle for 16 games - including 14 in the Championship and one in the Carabao Cup - dishing out 64 yellow cards and one red.

Memorable meeting

Brentford 3 Sunderland 3, (Championship, 21 October 2017)

Brentford came from 3-1 down at half-time to claim a point against Sunderland at Griffin Park.

Nico Yennaris put the Bees in front from close range before a Lewis Grabban brace, either side of a Bryan Oviedo corner being fumbled into the goal, saw the struggling visitors move into a two-goal lead.

Florian Jozefzoon reduced the deficit with a superb free-kick and a deflected strike from Neal Maupay completed the scoring.