Sunderland vs Spurs | De Zerbi's fast starts and our strong run over the Black Cats

Roberto De Zerbi will be looking to get off to the perfect start as our new Head Coach when our Premier League campaign resumes with a trip to Sunderland on Sunday (kick-off 2pm UK).

The 46-year-old joined us on a long-term deal on 31 March and his first match in charge sees us face a Black Cats side we have a strong record against in the top flight.

Our first home game in 2026 began with a 1-1 draw against newly-promoted Sunderland on 4 January - Ben Davies on target before Brian Brobbey's equaliser 10 minutes from time - to extend our unbeaten run in this fixture to 15 matches (W10, D5) since a 3-1 defeat in April, 2010.

This weekend sees us journey to the Stadium of Light in over nine years and we have come away unscathed in our previous seven visits to that ground (W4 D3), with the last encounter ending goalless in January, 2017.

Regis Le Bris' side have impressed on their Premier League return and occupy 11th place heading into the latest round of fixtures. Their 12-game unbeaten run at home this season was ended by a 1-0 defeat to Liverpool on 11 February and have since lost three on the spin there, although they have won their last two away games including a 2-1 win at rivals Newcastle United last time out.

As Roberto looks to make a winning start to his tenure, the Italian does bring an impressive track record from his previous clubs where he has won his first league game at three of his last four clubs (Sassuolo, Shakhtar Donetsk and Marseille), with Brighton the only exception (3-3 vs Liverpool).

Watch | De Zerbi's first press conference

With seven games remaining, our Head Coach's full focus has been on preparing the squad for the Sunderland clash and bringing some valuable points back to north London in what is a crucial league run-in.

Here are some other headline stats, courtesy of Opta, ahead of the fixture...

• We haven’t lost any of their 14 away Premier League games against newly promoted sides since the start of 2021/22 (W11 D3), since a 3-1 loss at Leeds in May 2021.
• Richarlison has scored nine Premier League goals this season and could hit double figures for the fifth time in the competition, after 2018/19 (13), 2019/20 (13), 2021/22 (10), and 2023/24 (11). He would be the second Brazilian to score 10+ goals five times in the Premier League, after Roberto Firmino.
• Sunderland have lost each of their last three Premier League home games but haven’t lost more league games in a row at the Stadium of Light since September 2017 in the Championship (four), and last did so in the top-flight in October 2013 (four).
• Wehave failed to win our last 13 Premier League games since the turn of the year (D5, L8) and are one of only four big five European league sides without a league victory in 2026 alongside Espanyol, Heidenheim and Metz.
• The Black Cats have won two of their last three Premier League games (L1), as many wins as in their previous 12 in the competition (D5 L5). They’ll be looking to win back-to-back league games for just a second time this season, previously doing so in October (vs Wolves & Chelsea).
• Sunderland have won 26 points in home Premier League matches this season, just five fewer than Spurs have picked at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium since the start of last season (31), despite playing 20 fewer home games.