Sunderland v Tottenham: Back 23/10 draw on De Zerbi debut | OneFootball

Get the best bets for Sunderland v Tottenham

Sunderland have dipped at home and new Spurs boss Roberto De Zerbi can guide his team to a draw at the Stadium of Light on Sunday, says Dave Tindall...

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Sunderland still chasing top-half finish

The middle of the Premier League table is packed. Going into the weekend, just four points separated seventh place and 13th.

And the fact that Sunderland are part of that packed centre is great credit to them. After a fast start where rivals were perhaps caught out by a team that only came up via the playoffs, it would have come as no surprise if they'd really slid down the table in the second part of the season.

But just when you think that might be happening, Sunderland come up with a result. It continues to be the case and in the last three games the Black Cats have recorded away wins at Leeds and Newcastle.

The latter left them 11th and they're 5/2 for a Top 10 Finish.

Spurs hoping for winning De Zerbi debut

While Sunderland have cruised along serenely under Regis Le Bris, Tottenham have been a car carsh.

Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor have both come and gone as fears of an unthinkable relegation have grown and now faith has been put in former Brighton and Marseille boss Roberto De Zerbi.

If Frank was too nice and Tudor too mean, maybe De Zerbi has the right psychological profile to get a tune out of this fragile Spurs squad which has been dreadful for nearly two seasons in the Premier League.

Draw best bet at Stadium of Light

Almost unbelievably, Spurs are yet to win a Premier League game in 2026.

For this one, Sunderland are 13/8, Tottenham 17/10 and The Draw 23/10.

Perhaps this game has parallels with Liverpool's visit in February when Sunderland were fancied by many to beat a big-name underperforming rival. The Reds had just lost at home to Manchester City and, at the time, Sunderland boasted the only unbeaten home run in the Premier League. It didn't happen though, Liverpool running out 1-0 winners.

Similarly, Spurs look there for the taking but, just as Liverpool did, I'm expecting the visitors to show some resilience and get a result.

To help Tottenham's cause, the Black Cats have now lost each of their last three Premier League home games, following that Liverpool defeat with reversals against Fulham (1-3) and Brighton (0-1).

That trio are clearly better than Spurs but it seems reasonable to think that De Zerbi can add to Sunderland's poor home run by taking a point from his Tottenham debut.

He did just that when coming in as Brighton boss, forcing an exciting 3-3 draw at Anfield. The media perception is that he struggled at the start of his reign with the Seagulls but tell that to Liverpool, who were 2-0 down at one point in De Zerbi's debut.

In addition, De Zerbi banked a win in his first match in charge of Marseille, Sassuolo and Shakhtar Donetsk. Yes, those same 'instant impact' stats were bandied around ahead of Tudor's first game but there's a huge difference here. De Zerbi has experience of the Premier League; Tudor did not.

Sunderland and Spurs played out a 1-1 draw earlier in the season and Tottenham are actually unbeaten in their last 15 Premier League games against Sunday's rivals.

Tottenham have won 20 of their 30 points this season on the road and they can nudge that tally up by one here.

Spurs to win corners match bet

Getting a point will be a positive result for Tottenham and there's another pro-Spurs bet to be had here.

Tottenham are underdogs in a Corner Match Bet at 11/10 but are worth a bet.

Only Wolves have managed fewer corners than Sunderland (average 3.58) in the Premier League this season. That average only rises a fraction at home (3.80) while the Black Cats concede corners at an average of 5.19 per game.

Spurs are 10th for corners on the road this season while, under De Zerbi, Brighton were middle of the pack in the corners charts (much higher in his first season).