Sunderland vs Tottenham Hotspur Premier League preview, team news and prediction

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Tottenham’s third managerial spell of the 2025-26 season begins on Sunday as Roberto De Zerbi takes charge for his first game, away to Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

The former Brighton boss inherits a Spurs side still without a Premier League win in 2026 and hovering just a point above the relegation zone, extending their top-flight winless run to 13 matches. While Igor Tudor briefly steadied the ship with a draw at Liverpool and a morale-boosting 3-2 Champions League win over Atletico Madrid, a damaging 3-0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest — coupled with a family bereavement — brought a rapid end to his reign, following Cristian Stellini’s earlier short-lived spell.

Spurs resisted the temptation to appoint another caretaker and instead handed De Zerbi a lucrative five-year deal, with the Italian insisting he is committed for the long haul. Encouragingly for Tottenham, two-thirds of their points this season have been collected away from home, and De Zerbi has won his first match at Marseille, Sassuolo and Shakhtar Donetsk.

Sunderland, meanwhile, are looking for a third win in four league matches after a memorable 2-1 derby victory at Newcastle, sealed by late heroics from Brian Brobbey. However, their home form has dipped sharply: they have not won at the Stadium of Light since beating Burnley in early February, losing to Liverpool, Fulham and Brighton since, scoring once and conceding five. Another defeat would see them lose four straight home league games for the first time since 2017.

Despite those struggles, Regis Le Bris’s side remain within touching distance of the top seven and are chasing back-to-back league wins for only the second time this season. Their 1-1 draw at Tottenham in January also extended Spurs’ unbeaten league run against Sunderland to 15 matches, dating back to 2010.

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De Zerbi has been hit by Tottenham’s injury problems before even taking charge of his first match, with the club confirming on Thursday that Mohammed Kudus has suffered a major setback in his recovery from a quadriceps injury — one that could require surgery and put his World Cup hopes in doubt.

Kudus remains out alongside Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, Rodrigo Bentancur, Guglielmo Vicario, Ben Davies, Wilson Odobert and Yves Bissouma, although Mathys Tel and Pape Sarr are expected to be available. Richarlison is also closing in on a milestone, needing one more goal to reach 10 in a fifth separate Premier League season — a feat previously achieved by only Roberto Firmino among Brazilians.

For Sunderland, Le Bris said goalkeeper Robin Roefs is fit again, but Daniel Ballard is still sidelined with a hamstring issue. Melker Ellborg has deputised well, yet Roefs is expected to reclaim the starting spot. Nilson Angulo, Bertrand Traore, Jocelin Ta Bi and Romaine Mundle also miss out.

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