Analysing Sunderland ahead of our New Year’s Day meeting | OneFootball

An in-depth look at the Sunderland side we’ll face…

Men's Team

Bumper January to come at the Etihad Stadium!

We go to the Stadium of Light for a 20:00 (UK) start on 1 January 2026, looking to start the new year as we mean to go on.

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With the Blues five points back from Premier League leaders Arsenal with a game in hand, we’ll be looking for three points to keep the pressure on.

This fixture comes just a few weeks on from the reverse meeting of the sides, when Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol and Phil Foden earned us a comfortable win at the Etihad.

Here’s what we can expect when the sides do it all again…

Recent form

Sunderland have ignored all pre-season suggestions of a relegation battle and sit seventh after 18 matches with 28 points.

They’ve lost just four times – only Arsenal have lost fewer matches – and won seven games. Their seven draws so far is a joint-high across the league.

Since they 3-0 defeat at the Etihad in early December, they’ve won the Wear-Tyne derby against Newcastle United and drawn with both Brighton and Leeds.

Preferred formation

Our hosts remain a team that favour 4-2-3-1, although this can look different depending on whether they’re in or out of possession.

A key consideration is their significant absentees due to the African Cup of Nations, with Chemsdine Talbi, Noah Sadiki, Arthur Masuaku, Bertrand Traore, Reinildo Mandava and Habib Diarra all currently in Morocco.

That’s seen the likes of Chris Rigg and Trai Hume, who were pivotal in their Championship run to play-off success last season, come back into the team.

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Manager

Regis Le Bris continues to defy expectations.

While his Sunderland side are inexperienced at this level, so is the boss himself.

The 49-year-old’s only previous senior management experience before moving to the Stadium of Light in 2024 was two seasons at Lorient.

However, that hasn’t held them back at all.

So far, he has a win percentage of 41.2% - the sixth best in the division of all managers to oversee a game this season.

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Head-to-head record

City have won 19 of all 26 Premier League games between the sides, scoring 58 goals in that time!

We won our last three top-flight trips to the Stadium of Light before Sunderland’s 2017 relegation but lost the four visits prior to that.

In total, we’ve won seven of our 13 Premier League games on Wearside with 18 goals in total.

How they attack

Our hosts have scored just 20 times so far – with only Wolves and Nottingham Forest finding the net less often at this stage.

In fact, they are the least creative team in the division with their xG of 15.4 being lower than anyone else.

However, this suggests that they’re prolific in front of goal – often taking chances that other teams wouldn’t.

With five headed goals, this is a clear tactic of Le Bris’ side while 11 different goalscorers suggests they can come from anywhere.

threatening after the break.

Sunderland pass the ball less than anyone else in the Premier League too, averaging just 368 per match compared to City’s league leading tally of 564 every 90 minutes.

Wilson Isidor is their top scorer with four strikes, while Granit Xhaka is the chief assist maker with five.

How they defend

It’s largely their defensive performance that has seen Sunderland outperform what was expected of them in the summer.

Only City (17) and Arsenal (11) have conceded fewer than their 18 goals so far.

A lot of that has been down to the performance of Robin Roefs in goal, who has a save percentage of 77.8% - bettered only by Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez.

That has contributed to a league-high outperformance of their xG, with that metric estimating Sunderland should have conceded between 24 and 25 goals so far.

Set pieces are not often a route to goal against them, with their three conceded the best in the division.

However, if you start well you can catch them out as they’ve conceded five times in the opening 15 minutes – only three teams have let in more early on.

City v Brighton tickets on general sale

We welcome an entertaining Brighton side to the Etihad at 19:30 (UK) on Wednesday 7 January.

And with tickets now on general sale, you could be there to see it!

Fans can now claim three tickets each, with adults from £30 and concessions as low as £15.

Or make it a night to remember with hospitality packages starting from just £180 per person and a wide range of experiences available to suit your budget.

Kick off the new year in style!