Sunderland v Fulham
Premier League Match Day 27 25/26 at Craven Cottage
Sunday 22nd February 2026 KO: 14:00
Referee:
Craig Pawson (South Yorkshire)
Live on Sky Sports Premier League
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Fulham will be travelling up to Sunderland planning how to continue their nearly twenty year long undefeated run on visits to the Stadium of Light.
While Sunderland will be aiming to return to winning ways after a defeat by Liverpool, the first in a 12 match run.
Even if Sunday’s match represents the clubs’ first Premier League encounter at the Stadium of Light since 2013, when the Cottagers won 1-0, the travelling fans will be aware of the positive run they have recently enjoyed in this fixture.
Without defeat in the past four encounters, securing three victories, Marco Silva’s men now bid to claim a fourth triumph in the last five contests with the Black Cats.
However, a disappointing drop-off in performances and results could undermine the Cottagers, who head to the Stadium of Light seeking to complete the double over their hosts for the first time since the 2002-03 season.
Silva’s team have fallen to three consecutive losses to Manchester United (3-2), Everton (2-1) and Manchester City (3-0) and have suffered four defeats in their last five, underlining their dip since mid-January.
Thus, it remains to be seen whether the out-of-form capital club will punish the hosts, whose four defeats in the last six rounds are as many as they suffered in the first 20 gameweeks.
Given the Cottagers’ four-match winless spell away from home in the top flight, a run which includes three successive losses, the outcome of Sunday’s match on Wearside is anyone’s guess.
Sunderland’s involvement in this season’s Premier League after an eight-year absence is likely to end with the Black Cats retaining their top-flight status; however, the Mackems will not celebrate an unbeaten campaign on Wearside.
Having avoided defeat in 12 matches at the Stadium of Light, winning seven games during that period, Liverpool finally beat Le Bris’s team on February 11.
That 1-0 loss followed their 3-0 reverse against Arsenal in London, marking the first time that the promoted outfit have suffered back-to-back defeats since returning to the big time, leaving them 11th in the table, one place and two points above this weekend’s visitors.
While they have the fifth-best home record this term, accumulating 26 points from a possible 39, the historical disadvantage in this fixture may not fill supporters with much confidence heading into Sunday’s contest.
Although Sunderland did beat the Cottagers in their last league meeting on Wearside — a 1-0 success over the London club in the Championship nine years ago — the Black Cats have been unsuccessful in five consecutive top-flight meetings since January 2009.
Since beating their West London opponents 1-0 17 years ago, the Black Cats have suffered two defeats and played out three draws when Fulham visit Wearside, strikingly failing to score in four of those meetings.
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Sunderland won their last home league game against Fulham in December 2017 in the Championship but are winless in their last five at home against them in the Premier League (D3 L2).
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Fulham are looking to complete the league double over Sunderland for the first time since the 2002-03 campaign, when the Black Cats were relegated from the Premier League.
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Fulham lost 1-0 at Leeds in January, ending a 12-game unbeaten run against promoted teams in the Premier League (W7 D5). They last lost consecutive games against promoted teams in the same top-flight campaign in 2013-14 (vs Hull and Cardiff).
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Fulham have lost each of their last three Premier League games, conceding at least twice each time. They could lose four in a row in a single campaign while conceding 2+ goals for the first time since a run of nine between February and April 2019.
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Of all players to have played 500+ minutes in the Premier League this season, only Erling Haaland (one every 77 minutes) is averaging a goal or assist more frequently than Fulham’s Samuel Chukwueze (one every 91 minutes).
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Raúl Jiménez scored Fulham’s winner in the reverse fixture against Sunderland. The only team he’s scored in both league meetings with in a campaign for the Cottagers is Newcastle United last season.
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Sunderland have lost four of their last six Premier League games (W2), as many as they had in their first 20 this season (W7 D9). Defeats against Arsenal and Liverpool in their last two is also the first time they’ve lost consecutive league games this season.
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Sunderland have only failed to score in two of their 13 Premier League home games this season, with their 1-0 defeat to Liverpool last time out ending their 12-game unbeaten start to the campaign.
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Though they’re facing nearly 15 shots per game on average, Sunderland have conceded the joint-4th fewest goals in the Premier League this term (30). Indeed, the Black Cats have the lowest shot conversion rate against them in the competition in 2025-26 (8%).
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Sunderland’s Granit Xhaka has more assists from line-breaking passes than any other player in the Premier League this season (4). He’s also made eight line-breaking passes that have led to a goal this season (not all directly assisted by him), also a league-high.
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Source Seye Omidiora at SportsMole/BBCSports