Manchester City vs Sunderland (Premier League): Match Preview, Team News, Head to Head, How To Watch | OneFootball

Manchester City host a Sunderland side who have shocked many this season by climbing into the European qualification places in what promises to be a tough match at the Etihad Stadium.

This week, City scraped past Fulham 4-5 at Craven Cottage having led the game by no less than four goals by the 54th minute. The Blues have now won their last two matches, dispelling some of doubt that arose after back-to-back defeats against Newcastle and Bayer Leverkusen.

On Tuesday night, Erling Haaland opened the scoring to complete a century of Premier League goals in record time. Tijjani Reijnders’ chip and Phil Foden’s 44th minute effort saw City go into half-time 1-3 up against Marco Silva’s team.

A second from Phil Foden and a deflected Jeremy Doku shot looked to have sealed the deal with Pep Guardiola’s men 1-5 up and comfortably in control, only for a 20-minute goal flurry from Fulham leaving the result feeling anything but safe, with a 98th-minute goal-line clearance from Josko Gvardiol required to bring all three points back to Manchester.

With the last two matches having both been won in such dramatic fashion, there has been plenty of talk about Manchester City’s inability to kill a match off – a worrying sign with Sunderland so far undefeated in all four of their matches against current top six sides.

Regis Le Bris’ side from the North-East have drawn three and won one from their matches against the top sides this season; a statistic that Pep Guardiola will surely have in mind on Saturday.

For Manchester City, a win is an absolute must as they seek to keep pressure on an injury-stricken Arsenal, who face third-place Aston Villa. If the last matches are anything to go by, this is a game that will be anything but straightforward, and defeat could see City fall to third with the Blues sitting only five points off the top.

Ahead of this Saturday’s match at the Etihad Stadium, here is everything you need to know!

Match Details

Manchester City vs Sunderland kicks off at 15:00 (UK) on Saturday 6 December at the Etihad Stadium.

Match Officials

Andy Madley is set to referee this weekend’s fixture, with Manchester City having won 10 of the 14 matches that he has overseen.

The full list of match officials can be found below!

Team News

Mateo Kovacic misses out as he continues to recover from surgery on his heel and will remain sidelined well into the new year.

Rodri also continues to nurse an injury, with the Spaniard out of action – bar a single minute against Bournemouth – since the 0-1 win against Brentford in October. Whilst there is no confirmation of a return date yet, the midfielder will need time to get back to match fitness.

For Sunderland, Habib Diarra will miss out with a long-term groin injury, as the 21-year-old midfielder has been out of action since September.

Dennis Cirkin, Leo Hjelde, and Aji Alese are all expected to miss this match as they recover from injury. It is yet to be confirmed whether any of the trio will make the squad, but with all three in need of fitness, it is unlikely they will be included.

Pep Guardiola’s Conference Quotes

On Sunderland: “They deserve to be where they are… After 14 fixtures, in this Premier League, against these opponents, to be in that position – they deserve it!”

On recent performances: “Of course, I don’t like to concede six goals in two games, but at the same time we are a team who has scored the most and we have to build from that.”

On Rodri’s recovery having been ruled out vs Sunderland: “He’s getting better. If you are happy with my answer, he’s getting better. I don’t know how long [he’ll be out] but he’s at the stage that in a few years he’ll be ready.”

On Manchester City running a lot: “It’s not good! When you play better, you run less. We have to run a lot, but they have good spirit – and that is a good point! Because what happened last season; we could run, but we didn’t run. The level was not good, all the time.”

Statistics

Granit Xhaka has lost more games against Manchester City than any other team, with the Swiss midfielder losing 15 out of the 18 times he has faced the sky blues.

Sunderland was the opposition for Manchester City’s final game at their former stadium, Maine Road in 2003. They were also the last team beaten at the previous ground, Hyde Road, 80 years earlier.

12 of Sunderland’s 23 points this season have been won from losing positions, with 77% of their goals coming in the second half.

Sunderland goalkeeper, Robin Roefs has the highest save percentage of any goalkeeper in the league with 79.2% of shots saved.

Manchester City players have covered more ground than any other team in the Premier League this season, averaging 115.3km per game.

Manchester City players have registered 467 touches in the opposition’s penalty area this season, the highest in the league. Sunderland sit 18th with only 260.

Head To Head

Manchester City have won all of their last seven encounters with Sunderland, boasting an aggregate score of 20-7. The last time the Black Cats managed a win was in 2013 with a solitary Phil Bardsley goal the difference. In the Premier League era, City has won 18 times, drawn three, and lost five times against Sunderland.

The last time the two teams faced each other was back in March 2017 at the Stadium of Light. On that day, Manchester City won 0-2 with goals coming from Leroy Sane and Sergio Aguero.

Manager Pep Guardiola holds a perfect record against the Black Cats having won both times he has faced them, and in fact his first Premier League game was a 2-1 win against them.

How To Watch

There will be no live TV broadcast of the contest in the United Kingdom for this match due to the embargo on Saturday 3PM kick-offs. There will, however, be live regional radio coverage on BBC Radio Manchester.

Viewers in the USA will be able to watch the match on Peacock.

A full list of global TV listings can be found here!

City Xtra will have full live coverage available on X, Facebook and Instagram throughout the matchday, with content also on cityxtra.co.uk.