Sunderland’s home form is up there with the best in the Premier League
They say home is where the heart is. In Sunderland’s case, it is also where the vast majority of their points have been found so far this season too.
As the Black Cats stood on the precipice of their long-awaited Premier League return this summer, one of the many cliches that was bandied about in their general vicinity was the need for them to make the Stadium of Light into a fortress over the coming months.
Few gave Regis Le Bris’ side much of a chance of being in anything other than a scrap for their lives this season, and yet, the common consensus was that if they were to somehow keep their head above water, they would have to do so by tilling as much home soil as possible.
Then came that opening tussle with West Ham, a game that - prior to entering the ground - felt as if it could have gone either way, but that, as soon as the Lambton Wyrm rose above the Roker End and the eponymous roar swept the terraces, was only ever going to be decided in the Black Cats’ favour. Next, Brentford fell by the wayside - albeit not without a hefty dose of peril - and once again, we were reminded, just like we were on that spine-tingling night in early May, that when Sunderland seize the bit between their teeth in front of a thunderous home crowd, they will keep grafting and grafting ‘til the end.
A draw against Aston Villa was only disappointing insofar that, had Le Bris’ side had 11 men on the pitch for a full 90 minutes, you suspect they might have taken all three points, and then, against Wolves this Saturday just gone, a combination of attacking ruthlessness and defensive stubbornness proved too much for an opponent still yet to win in the league this season.
And so, here we are, four home games into a campaign that many onlookers had prematurely doomed from the off, and Sunderland are still yet to be beaten on their own turf. The naysayers and the detractors will quibble and whine, will tell you that they are yet to face a proper test from a stern visitor, and maybe they’re not entirely wrong, but the fact remains that when they dig their trenches for a battle on the banks of the Wear, the Black Cats look like a fearsome prospect.
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Indeed, when it comes to their home record, only de facto title favourites Arsenal eclipse Le Bris’ men - and even then, it is only on goal difference. Sunderland are one of just three teams to have taken 10 points from their first four home games in the Premier League this season, alongside the Gunners and Bournemouth, and as things stand, they find themselves ahead of the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, and a whole glittering cavalcade of others.
Of course, how long it will last, nobody can say for sure. The next two teams to visit the Stadium of Light are Everton and Arsenal, and the realist within doesn’t exactly hold out much hope of six points from that particular double-header. Then again, Sunderland are starting to make a habit out of proving people wrong this term, and if they are to continue doing so right up until the point that they are mathematically clear of the drop, then their home form will surely play a gigantic role in getting them there.
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