Phil Smith: Four reasons to be positive about Sunderland, plus a couple of early concerns | OneFootball

Sunderland have four points from five league games but have won both cups, including a first European victory in 53 years. Sunderland Echo notes performances have outstripped Premier League results.

Chance creation has risen from last spring. The Manchester City outlier skews the data, yet Sunderland rate highly for chances. With Enzo Le Fée central, goals should follow.

Régis Le Bris navigated the first Europa League week well, rotating for AZ Alkmaar and winning, then delivering a strong display at Manchester City. After Brighton come three away games, a stiff test.

If momentum builds, he might rotate more in midweeks against lower-seeded opponents, easing league strain. It is hard to imagine rivals staying as clinical as Arsenal and Manchester City.

Summer recruits offer promise. Thomas Meunier has slotted in smartly, and Kevin Danso already looks pivotal, helping cover the potential loss of Dan Ballard to a hamstring issue.

Dayann Methalie’s testing Premier League debut at Manchester City showed left-back thrust despite early errors. Malick Fofana and Juan Riquelme Angulo are still settling.

Individuals are trending up. Brian Brobbey’s hat-trick at Manchester City backed up belief a scoring run was close, though a hamstring problem on international duty brings a nervy wait.

Two concerns remain. Costly errors have limited returns, from opening-day lapses against Ipswich Town to self-inflicted damage at Manchester City. Habib Diarra went off soon after assisting Wilson Isidor against Fulham, and Ballard’s injury arrived as form returned, though Diarra is close and depth helps.

Source: Sunderland Echo

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”