Surprising Sunderland Host Fulham | OneFootball

Who would have thought three months ago when the season started that when these two sides met for the first time, it would be Sunderland who were higher in the table than Fulham?

Well they’re not just higher in the table; they’re eleven places above them. Remarkably, Sunderland come into this game sitting fourth after almost a third of the season. Fulham are just above the drop zone with their boss, Marco Silva, facing questions about his commitment and future.

Black Cats Are Strutting

To still be in the Champions League places at this stage speaks to the incredible job that manager Regis Le Bris and his side have done so far. The Black Cats are soaring, having lost only two Premier League games all season. And they’ve already played Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea and Aston Villa.

For context, Manchester City, Chelsea and Tottenham have all lost three league games.

The bedrock of Le Bris’ brilliant side has been their defensive solidity. They have conceded ten goals in eleven games. Only Arsenal, Manchester City and Crystal Palace have let in fewer. Led by Dan Ballard, the Sunderland backline has been formidable. Ballard has been a threat in both boxes, with attackers and defenders around the league struggling to deal with him. He has scored two goals and his no-nonsense, throwback style of defending has been refreshing to see.

New signings have also paid off. Nordi Mukiele and Granit Xhaka have both been brilliant. Mukiele has been highly touted for years. He has played for RB Leipzig, Bayer Leverkusen and PSG but never seemed to reach the heights many expected of him. But now, he is surpassing those expectations. He has been in sublime form this season, looking comfortable at both centre-back and right-back.

His form has been such that there are strong reports in his home country of France that he could make a late push for Didier Deschamps’ World Cup squad.

Cottagers’ Leaky Form

But with the brilliance of Sunderland this season has come the disappointment of Fulham. They are 15th in the table, and some fans are fearing relegation. They’ve lost six from eleven this term and won only three. The crux of the issue is that it seems as though manager Silva has mentally checked out.

Having been at the helm for over four years, his reputation has steadily grown over time to the point where every time a high profile Premier League job comes up, his name is linked with it. But he has never been the standout candidate for any of those jobs, and as such has remained at Fulham.

The Cottagers had a very quiet summer, signing four players, only one of whom came in at a cost over $650,000. That would be Kevin, an exciting Brazilian winger and club record $43M recruit from Shakhtar Donetsk, signed to give fans some encouragement. But whilst he is good on the eye, he is yet to register a goal or assist in the Premier League.

Mexican striker Raúl Jiménez is playing countless minutes but hasn’t been an effective striker for years. Fellow forward Rodrigo Muniz is out until February. The vital Nigerian trio of Calvin Bassey, Alex Iwobi and Samuel Chukwuezi will all be missing during the Africa Cup of Nations from December, and could realistically be absent for up to seven Fulham games during the tournament.

Things are not looking positive for The Cottagers, and if they were to lose at the weekend, it would signal more potential danger of relegation. And their fixtures after Sunderland are Tottenham, Manchester City and Crystal Palace, so it doesn’t get any easier…