Still defying all pre-season expectations laid before them, Premier League surprise package Sunderland welcome Everton to the Stadium of Light on Monday night for the final fixture of gameweek 10.
The Black Cats reached a new zenith in their 2-1 beating of Chelsea last weekend, whereas the Toffees were comprehensively swept aside 3-0 by Tottenham Hotspurat home.
Match preview
Where European champions Paris Saint-Germain failed in the Club World Cup final, Sunderland succeeded in the Premier League, as Regis Le Bris's bouncing Black Cats stunned Stamford Bridge into silence with a colossal comeback job in gameweek nine.
A fourth-minute Alejandro Garnacho opener was not the harbinger of doom that some away fans may have feared, as Wilson Isidor quickly restored parity for the visitors, before an exposed Chelsea defence was caught cold by Chemsdine Talbi in the third minute of second-half injury time.
Boasting an applaudable 17 points from their opening nine matches of the season, Sunderland have coincidentally taken the most points of any newly-promoted Premier League club for 17 years, since Hull City had accrued 20 by this stage in 2008-09.
Le Bris's men entered the weekend in the top four of the Premier League table, but with Liverpool and Chelsea both prevailing on Saturday, the newly-promoted team have been bumped down to sixth.
However, Sunderland can now force their way back into the coveted Champions League places thanks to their grit and determination when the odds are against them - the Black Cats have won seven points from losing positions in the 2025-26 Premier League, more than any other team before gameweek 10 began.
David Moyes manager of Everton reacts during the EFL Cup - Carabao Cup third round on September 23, 2025
Everton stole victory from the jaws of defeat as recently as October 5 against Crystal Palace, but David Moyes's men have since seen their attacking and defensive powers wane, albeit against Big Six opposition.
An Erling Haaland-inflicted 2-0 defeat to Manchester City preceded a Micky van de Ven-inspired 3-0 loss at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur, who became the first visiting side to win at the Hill Dickinson Stadium thanks to the Dutchman's brace and a Pape Sarr header.
All three aerial efforts exposed Everton's worrying weaknesses from crosses and set-pieces, and the Toffees now find themselves 15th in the first-tier rankings, albeit with a healthy five-point lead above the drop zone.
A 20-year worst could now be equalled by the Merseyside outfit, who have not lost three consecutive Premier League games without scoring under Moyes since October 2005 - six in a row - and the less said about their exploits on their travels, the better.
Indeed, Everton have fallen to defeat in each of their last three matches on the road in all tournaments, have conceded twice in each of their last four away from home, and are still waiting for their first clean sheet of the season on rival turf.
However, Everton have triumphed in each of their last three meetings with Sunderland by an aggregate scoreline of 8-0, although their most recent Premier League battle came all the way back in February 2017, when Toffees number one Jordan Pickford was the last line of the Black Cats' defence.
Sunderland Premier League form:
D
D
W
L
W
W
Everton Premier League form:
D
L
D
W
L
L
Everton form (all competitions):
L
L
D
W
L
L
Team News
Everton's Jarrad Branthwaite on February 26, 2025
Sunderland conquered Chelsea despite the absence of defensive rock Omar Alderete through concussion protocols, but Le Bris has revealed that the Paraguayan has trained and is hopeful of being given the all-clear for Monday.
Simon Adingra is also expected back after missing the Blues victory with a small hamstring issue, while Dan Neil should be fine despite a concussion of his own, but Aji Alese (shoulder), Dennis Cirkin (wrist), Romain Mundle (thigh), Leo Fuhr Hjelde (Achilles) and Habib Diarra (groin) are still absent.
Le Bris switched to a 5-4-1 setup against Chelsea - which worked to magnificent effect - but the Black Cats boss may now revert to a four-man wall in front of the home fans, potentially to the detriment of Dan Ballard.
On Everton's end, Jarrad Branthwaite is still not quite ready to return from a hamstring problem, while fellow defender Nathan Patterson is on the mend from a combination of foot and groin injuries.
Moyes has confirmed that the rest of his players are in good shape for Monday's test, where the Scot faces the familiar selection quandary up front between Beto and Thierno Barry - the latter replaced the former 66 minutes into the defeat to Tottenham.
Eight years on from swapping Wearside for Merseyside, England number one Pickford faces former club Sunderland for the first time - the 31-year-old kept four clean sheets for the Black Cats in the 2016-17 Premier League season.
Sunderland possible starting lineup:
Roefs; Hume, Mukiele, Alderete, Reinildo; Xhaka, Geertruida, Sadiki; Talbi, Isidor, Le Fee
Everton possible starting lineup:
Pickford; O'Brien, Keane, Tarkowski, Mykolenko; Garner, Gueye; Ndiaye, Dewsbury-Hall, Grealish; Barry
SM words green background
We say: Sunderland 2-1 Everton
With Jack Grealish a perpetual nuisance on the left flank - drawing more fouls than any other Premier League player before gameweek 10 - Everton are never lacking quality chances, but they are lacking a ruthless number nine to finish them.
As such, Sunderland's Isidor ought to win the centre-forwards battle between himself and either Beto or Barry, and we have confidence in the Black Cats' ability to exploit Everton's aerial vulnerabilities in another statement success.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
ID:584832:1false2false3false: from db desktop :LenBod:collect10115:
No Data Analysis info
Previews by email
Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!