Nordi Mukiele, Granit Xhaka, Daniel Ballard and Robin Roefs of Sunderland celebrate victory following the Premier League match between Sunderland and Bournemouth at Stadium of Light on November 29, 2025 in Sunderland, England.placeholder image
Nordi Mukiele, Granit Xhaka, Daniel Ballard and Robin Roefs of Sunderland celebrate victory following the Premier League match between Sunderland and Bournemouth at Stadium of Light on November 29, 2025 in Sunderland, England. | Getty Images
Liverpool face Sunderland at Anfield in midweek following their Premier League clash with West Ham United
A tough test awaits Liverpool at Anfield in midweek as in-form Sunderland are the visitors to Merseyside.
The Black Cats have only lost one of their last six games, and have recorded an away win at Chelsea and drawn 2-2 with Arsenal in that run. On Saturday afternoon, they came from 2-0 down to beat Bournemouth 3-2 at the Stadium of Light.
The Wearside club have been hugely impressive on their return to the top flight and have picked up 22 points from their opening 13 games. It would take a monumental collapse from this point for them to be relegated - as they look set to buck the trend of promoted clubs heading straight back to the Championship.
Liverpool have lost nine of their last 12 games and have been humbled by Nottingham Forest and PSV Eindhoven in their last two games at Anfield. They face West Ham United at the London Stadium on Sunday afternoon before then turning their attention to Sunderland.
Granit Xhaka avoids fifth yellow card v Bournemouth
One of Sunderland’s stand-out signings this season has been former Arsenal player Granit Xhaka - who joined the Black Cats from Bayer Leverkusen.
The midfielder had picked up four yellow cards this season ahead of the win over Bournemouth. Under Premier League rules, any player who gets five yellow cards in the first 19 games of the campaign will be handed a one-game suspension.
Xhaka avoided a yellow card against the Cherries and remains on four bookings - leaving him free to play against Liverpool. That news may not be received well by Liverpool, who will have a much tougher job against Sunderland with Xhaka in the side.
Ahead of Saturday’s game, Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola was full of praise for the midfielder. He said: “Granit Xhaka, I don't think is a surprise for anyone. He's an incredible player, has been all his career, has played in top clubs.
“On his own, he is very good defensively, offensively, but also I think he has a big impact on his teammates because he's orchestrating everything. He's controlling everyone for sure. I don't know him personally, but for sure he's demanding even with the teammates and this kind of player, they always give you something extra and I think from the outside he looks like a very important player for them, yes.”
Granit Xhaka stats this season
Xhaka has started all 13 of Sunderland’s games in the Premier League this season, with one goal and four assists to his name. Defensively, he has won 74 duels and made 24 tackles while winning 31 aerial duels.
There may be some of Liverpool’s squad who would have liked to see the former Arsenal man pick up a booking against Bournemouth and then be banned for the visit to Anfield.
He made five recoveries against the Cherries and provided an assist but he did not make any tackles as he tread carefully in order to avoid the yellow card that would have ruled him out against the Reds.
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