Sunderland vs Manchester United preview

England flag 2025/2026 Premier League, England
Stadium of Light Today - 2:00 PM
Premier League
Sunderland SUN
Manchester United MUN
KICKOFF : Today - 2:00 PM
Round 36 Regular Season

CONTEXT

Sunderland host Manchester United in Premier League (Regular Season) at Stadium of Light. Domestically, Sunderland sit 12th in the table while Manchester United are 3th. Power ranking favours Manchester United by 11 points heading into this fixture.

TL;DR

  • Structural: Manchester United possess an 11-point power advantage and sit 3rd, while Sunderland are 12th with 81.05 power score.
  • Form: Manchester United's form score stands at 36.94, significantly higher than Sunderland's 14.
  • Squad: Sunderland occupy 12th in the league, trailing Manchester United in 3rd.
  • Efficiency: Efficiency data is unavailable for both teams.
  • Transition: Transition metrics are not provided in available data.
  • Set pieces: Set piece data shows low confidence with proxies used and no xG available for either team.
  • xVariable: xG variables unavailable due to data limitations for set pieces.
  • Market: Sunderland 23.9% (Δ+0%) | Draw 25.4% (Δ+0%) | Manchester United 50.7% (Δ+0%).
No standings statistics available.
No head-to-head records found.
0.5+ goals: 85%
1.5+ goals: 70%
2.5+ goals: 50%
3.5+ goals: 25%
Confidence: High (≥8 matches)

Quality vs Volume

Home: xG 1.8, Shots 12, xG/Shot 0.15
Away: xG 1.5, Shots 14, xG/Shot 0.11

Open Play vs Set Play

Open Play: 65%
Set Play: 35%

Expected Points

TeamxPts
Home1.8
Away1.2
ℹ️ Methodology: Expected Goals (xG) measures shot quality
Jan 25 vs Team A
Feb 1 vs Team B
Feb 8 vs Team C
Sunderland R. Le Bris
R. Le Bris
VS
Manchester United M. Carrick
M. Carrick
1.17
Avg Points / Game (Last 100 Matches)
1.92
1.17 i
Last 6 Opponents
Wolverhampton Wanderers Rank: 79 D
Nottingham Forest Rank: 85 L
Aston Villa Rank: 91 L
Tottenham Hotspur Rank: 85 W
Newcastle United Rank: 89 W
Brighton & Hove Albion Rank: 90 L
Avg Points / Game (Last 6 Matches)
2.17 i
Last 6 Opponents
Liverpool Rank: 93 W
Brentford Rank: 88 W
Chelsea Rank: 89 W
Leeds United Rank: 87 L
AFC Bournemouth Rank: 90 D
Aston Villa Rank: 91 W
3
Head to Head (Wins - Draws - Losses)
3 - 5 - 23
23
No sidelined player data available.

Win Probabilities

Live Win Probability (90 Min)
Home Sunderland
23.91%
Draw
25.37%
Away Manchester United
50.72%

Team Power Ranking

i
What is Power Ranking?
Power ranking is SportMonks' model-based team strength indicator. Historical input capped to 2 seasons.
81.05
92
0 (Weakest) 100 (Strongest)
Metric
Sunderland
Manchester United
Power Score
81.05
92
League Position
12
3
Global Rank
54
8

Form Analysis Opponent-Weighted

Line chart of recent results (points/trend). Friendlies excluded by default. Hover for opponent, result, xG/xGA and power ranking — based on last 6 matches.

–
vs
Sunderland — Opponent-weighted form score
Manchester United — Opponent-weighted form score
Win (3 pts) Draw (1 pt) Loss (0 pts) Sunderland Manchester United

Team Head to Head Last 6 Seasons

Summary of 31 matches between these sides — filtered by competition and venue context.

Sunderland SUN Home
31 matches
Manchester United MUN Away
Match Record
3
Wins
23
5
Draws
5
23
Losses
3
Goals
18
Goals Scored
56
56
Goals Conceded
18
-38
Goal Difference
+38
Expected Goals
0
xG
0
0
xGA
0

Data last updated: 2026-05-08T00:06:45+00:00

STARTING XI

Match Formation 4-2-3-1
Match Formation 4-2-3-1
Pitch
R. Roefs
Netherlands
22 R. Roefs
N. Mukiele Mulere
France
20 N. Mukiele Mulere
D. Cirkin
England
3 D. Cirkin
O. Alderete Fernández
Paraguay
15 O. Alderete Fernández
R. Mandava
Mozambique
17 R. Mandava
G. Xhaka
Switzerland
34 G. Xhaka
N. Sadiki
Belgium
27 N. Sadiki
T. Hume
Northern Ireland
32 T. Hume
E. Le Fée
France
28 E. Le Fée
C. Talbi
Belgium
7 C. Talbi
B. Brobbey
Netherlands
9 B. Brobbey
S. Lammens
Belgium
31 S. Lammens
L. Shaw
England
23 L. Shaw
A. Heaven
England
26 A. Heaven
H. Maguire
England
5 H. Maguire
J. Dalot Teixeira
Portugal
2 J. Dalot Teixeira
K. Mainoo
England
37 K. Mainoo
C. Casimiro
Brazil
18 C. Casimiro
M. Carneiro Da Cunha
Brazil
10 M. Carneiro Da Cunha
B. Fernandes
Portugal
8 B. Fernandes
B. Mbeumo
Cameroon
19 B. Mbeumo
B. Šeško
Slovenia
30 B. Šeško

General Information

Date & Time
May 09, 2026, 02:00 PM
Competition
2025/2026 Premier League, England · Round 36 · Regular Season
Stadium
Stadium of Light
Capacity
48707
Pitch Surface
Grass
Weather
☀️ 12°C, Fair
Referees
Stuart Attwell
Constantine Hatzidakis
Nick Greenhalgh
Dean Whitestone

Lineup

Referee : Stuart Attwell

Starting XI ▼

22
Robin Roefs
Robin Roefs Goalkeeper
6.97
3
Dennis Cirkin
Dennis Cirkin Defender
6.54
15
Omar Alderete
Omar Alderete Defender
6.85
17
Reinildo Mandava
Reinildo Mandava Defender
6.71
20
Nordi Mukiele
Nordi Mukiele Defender
6.99
27
Noah Sadiki
Noah Sadiki Midfielder
6.72
28
Enzo Le Fée
Enzo Le Fée Midfielder
6.92
34
Granit Xhaka
Granit Xhaka Midfielder
7.13
7
Chemsdine Talbi
Chemsdine Talbi Attacker
6.64
9
Brian Brobbey
Brian Brobbey Attacker
6.69
32
Trai Hume
Trai Hume Attacker
6.77
Referee : Stuart Attwell

Starting XI ▼

31
Senne Lammens
Senne Lammens Goalkeeper
6.72
2
Diogo Dalot
Diogo Dalot Defender
6.87
5
Harry Maguire
Harry Maguire Defender
6.77
23
Luke Shaw
Luke Shaw Defender
6.75
26
Ayden Heaven
Ayden Heaven Defender
6.79
8
Bruno Fernandes
Bruno Fernandes Midfielder
7.76
18
Casemiro
Casemiro Midfielder
7.17
37
Kobbie Mainoo
Kobbie Mainoo Midfielder
6.83
10
Matheus Cunha
Matheus Cunha Attacker
7.12
19
Bryan Mbeumo
Bryan Mbeumo Attacker
7.02
30
Benjamin Sesko
Benjamin Sesko Attacker
6.81

CONCLUSION

Overall, the structural indicators point toward Manchester United holding the stronger pre-match profile. Power rankings give Manchester United a 11-point edge. External projection is Sunderland 24%, draw 25.3%, and Manchester United 50.7%. That projection profile aligns with the structural signals. The balance of play should hinge on execution in transitions and set-piece phases.