Sunderland are 20th with
12 points
and their
highest achievable position
after Thursday is 20th
while
the lowest is 20th
- SUNDERLAND and Fulham restage the match abandoned on 8 April after 22 minutes because of a waterlogged pitch, as a torrent of hail and snow was descending on Wearside. Fulham, chasing their first away win of the League season at the time, were leading through a Brian McBride goal. The Londoners have since claimed that elusive first away maximum, while the relegated Black Cats have this final opportunity to avoid becoming the first club ever in English top flight football to go through the entire season without a home win.
- The north east strugglers have managed just two points from a possible 24 under Kevin Ball, and are winless in 14. Defeat to Arsenal on Sunday means the Wearsiders will set a new lowest ever points total for a Premiership season, fewer than the 19 they mustered when last in the top tier three seasons ago. They need to beat Fulham and Aston Villa at Villa Park on Sunday to prevent setting a new mark for fewest wins in a Premiership campaign, and fewest points in the highest division in the 25 seasons since three points for a win was introduced. Failure to claim another victory would see Sunderland bear the distinction as the club with fewest ever wins in an English top flight campaign. They've lost 28 times. Should they not pick up another point, they'd break the record for most losses in a Premiership campaign.
- The Mackems have never beaten Fulham in the Premier League, and have not enjoyed a home League victory over them in 18 years, since the 2-0 triumph at third League level on 1 March 1988. Their last home victory over the Cottagers at the top League grade was 39 years ago - a 3-0 triumph on 23 August 1967.
- Not won in 15 in all competitions.
- Drawn three and lost 12 since beating West Bromwich Albion 0-1 away on 21 January.
- Won one of the last 17 League and Cup encounters.
- Pressing for a first win in 15 Premiership engagements.
- Sunderland won just four games, lost 27, scored 21 goals, conceded 65 and gained a record low 19 points when relegated from the Premiership in the 2002/03 season.
- The record lowest points tally in top flight football since three points for a win was introduced in the 1981/82 season, is 17 accrued by Stoke from 42 matches in 1984/85.
- Least wins in an English top flight season is three by Stoke in 1889/1890 - the first ever season of League football when just 22 matches were played.
- Won fewer Premiership matches than any other club this season (two).
- Lost more top tier games than any other club this term (28).
- Own the least effective attack in the top table - 23 goals in 36 games.
- Kept only four clean sheets in the highest League (v Middlesbrough, Bolton, West Brom and Manchester Utd) - fewer than any other club.
13 of the 66 League goals conceded, have been leaked in the last 10 minutes.
- Dropped 96 points this season so far.
- Won two of the last 56 Premiership matches played.
- Lost 43 of 51 Premiership games, and 49 of 60, spanning the 2002/03 and current seasons.
"
- Doubled" 10 times this season - more than any other club.
- The only club in England without a home League win this season.
- Not won any of their 18 home Premiership games this season.
- Not won in 28 home fixtures in the Premiership since the 2-1 maximum against Liverpool on 15 December 2002. (5 draws, 23 defeats).
- The only points at the Stadium of Light have come by way of draws with West Brom (1-1), West Ham (1-1), Bolton (0-0) and Tottenham (1-1).
- Lost the last four on home turf, against Wigan, Blackburn, Newcastle and Arsenal.
- Not scored more than a single goal in any home League game this season.
- Netted one goal in each of the first seven home League games, but failed to score in eight of 11 since.
- The goalless draw with Bolton on Boxing Day is Sunderland's only clean sheet at home this season.
- Dean WHITEHEAD and Anthoy LE TALLEC are Sunderland's top scorers this season with four goals each.
- WHITEHEAD, Liam LAWRENCE and Tommy MILLER jointly head the club's Premiership scorers list with three goals a piece.
- If he plays, WHITEHEAD will be making his 200th career League appearance (Oxford United and Sunderland).
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Fulham are 13th with 45 points
and their highest achievable position
after Thursday is 12th while
the lowest would be 15th.
- FULHAM finally broke their duck on the road this season when coming from behind to defeat Manchester City with Steed Malbranque's stoppage time winner. Now they're looking for back-to-back victories away from home for the first time since Blackburn and Manchester United were beaten on 28 September and 25 October 2003, respectively.
- Charlton, Wigan and Manchester City have all fallen foul to Fulham in their last three outings, The Cottagers have never slung four victories together in the Premiership, and last completed a quartet of successive League victories in December 2000 - the season they were prompted as runaway champions of the Nationwide Division One with 101 points.
- Two headed goals by Collins John gave Fulham all three points in the reverse fixture in early January, now they look to do the 'double' over Sunderland for the second successive occasion - having achieved it when the clubs were last in the top division together in 2002/03. The only other time Fulham defeated Sunderland home and away in the same League campaign was in 1958/59.
Lost one of the last six Premiership matches.
- Kept three clean sheets in the last six League outings.
- Failed to score in one of the last eight in the upper echelon.
- Conceded 56 Premiership goals. Only Portsmouth (59) and Sunderland (66) have let in more.
- Completed 17 Premiership matches since a score draw (3-3, home to Villa on 28 December).
- Drawn one of 18 League and Cup matches.
- Lost four top flight games from a winning position.
- Conceded more goals in the last five minutes of top tier games than any other club (eight).
- Premiership matches involving Fulham have yielded 102 goals (46 for, 56 against), at 2.83 goals per game. Only Middlesbrough exceed that, with an average of 2.86.
- Gained 31 more points at home than away (38 at home, seven away) - the widest such dichomany in the top table.
- Picked up 15 wins from 94 away Premier League matches all-time.
- Gained one victory in 18 top flight games on the road this season.
- Only points from their top flight travels have come from a victory at Manchester City and draws with Newcastle, Charlton, West Brom and Aston Villa.
- Kept only two clean sheets on their top flight travels this season from goalless draws with West Brom and Aston Villa, and two in 29 League games on the road since the beginning of December 2004.
- If he gets a run out, Niclas JENSEN will be making his 50th Premiership appearance.
- If selected, Papa Bouba DIOP will be making his 50th Premiership appearance - all for Fulham.
- Should he feature, Heidar HELGUSON will be making his 200th English League appearance (Watford and Fulham).
- If involved, Mark PEMBRIDGE will be making his 400th domestic League appearance (Luton, Derby, Sheffield Wednesday, Everton and Fulham).
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THIS SEASON'S REVERSE FIXTURE: - 2 January 2006
Sunderland 2-1 Fulham |
| HEAD TO HEAD RESULTS |
|
Sunderland |
Draw |
Fulham |
| League |
17 |
11 |
13 |
| Premier |
0 |
1 |
4 |
|
| HEAD TO HEAD at Sunderland |
|
Sunderland |
Draw |
Fulham |
| League |
9 |
7 |
4 |
| Premier |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
|