STAR FOOTBALL PREVIEW Thu: Sunderland v Manchester City

After a disappointing 2025 by their standards, 2026 promises to be massive for Manchester City and they can start the year as they mean to go on with victory at Sunderland, writes WILLIAM KEDJANYI.

A rare trophyless campaign – their first under Pep Guardiola – was unexpected but a lot of work has been done to rebuild the first team and it would be an exceptionally brave layer to bet against them landing a big prize in 2026. City are five points behind Arsenal but carrying the better form according to most observers, through to the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup for the first time since 2021 are handily placed in the gargantuan Champions League group phase table and face Exeter City at home in the third round of the FA Cup.

It’s been an incredible return to the Premier League for Sunderland, who have adapted to the top flight in impressive style, currently sitting seventh in the table with an unbeaten home record. Regis Le Bris was well backed in the summer transfer window – Sunderland performed wonders in the transfer market to bring Granit Xhaka, Robin Roefs, and Nordi Mukiele whilst making Enzo Le Fee’s loan permanent – but the way such a rebuilt squad has gelled and adapted is a credit to him especially given that he’s also taken a step up himself.

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Sunderland v Manchester City
Premier League
20:30 Sky Sports Main Event / Sky Sports Premier League / Sky Sports Ultra HDR

LAST FIVE STATS

HEAD-TO-HEAD
DEC 2025 PREMIER LEAGUE Manchester City 3-0 Sunderland
MAR 2017 PREMIER LEAGUE Sunderland 0-2 Manchester City
AUG 2016 PREMIER LEAGUE Manchester City 2-1 Sunderland
FEB 2016 PREMIER LEAGUE Sunderland 0-1 Manchester City
DEC 2015 PREMIER LEAGUE Manchester City 4-1 Sunderland

SUNDERLAND
DEC 2025 PREMIER LEAGUE Sunderland 1-1 Leeds
DEC 2025 PREMIER LEAGUE Brighton 0-0 Sunderland
DEC 2025 PREMIER LEAGUE Sunderland 1-0 Newcastle
DEC 2025 PREMIER LEAGUE Man City 3-0 Sunderland
DEC 2025 PREMIER LEAGUE Liverpool 1-1 Sunderland

MANCHESTER CITY
DEC 2025 PREMIER LEAGUE Nottingham Forest 1-2 Manchester City
DEC 2025 PREMIER LEAGUE Manchester City 3-0 West Ham
DEC 2025 ENGLISH LEAGUE CUP Manchester City 2-0 Brentford
DEC 2025 PREMIER LEAGUE Crystal Palace 0-3 Manchester City
DEC 2025 EUROPEAN CUP Real Madrid 1-2 Manchester City

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All that said, Sunderland – like many other teams in the League – will have peaks and throughs and the impact of AFCON has been keenly felt, with six absentees currently in Morocco.

A draw at Brighton was a good start to proceedings but they were lucky to hold on against Leeds here in the second half, with the visitors winning the shot count 17-8, the shots on target count 6-3 and the xG count 2.17 to 0.70. Similar numbers for a City side that have won eight straight matches in all competitions (19 in 24 going back to the beginning of the season) spell big trouble.

Pep Guardiola’s men won the reverse encounter 3-0 and whilst Sunderland’s home record deserves respect, a similar result wouldn’t surprise. Ryan Cherki and Phil Foden have found their groove to give the Cityzens more fluency going forward, although City have tightened up at the back in recent weeks – since a 2-1 win at Real Madrid they’ve conceded just one goal at Nottingham Forest last week.

Take the visitors to pass a one goal handicap, whilst the 2-0 correct score is also of interest at 6/1 with starsports.bet.

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PROFIT/LOSS (JAN 2026): 0.00 points

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