Sunderland's current form and position assessed
Sunderland battled their way to a 1-1 draw at Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon.
The Black Cats appeared to be on their way to what would have been a rare defeat after Micky van de Ven fired Spurs in front on the half-hour mark and their advantage remained in place until the final ten minutes of the game. However, with nerves visible amongst the home faithful, Regis Le Bris’ side started to put their hosts under pressure and they got their rewards when Brian Brobbey crashed home a stunning equaliser as the former Ajax man rounded off a neat passing move.
The draw means Sunderland have lost just four of their 20 league games since they returned to the Premier League with a dramatic Championship play-off final win against Sheffield United in May - and there are high hopes Le Bris and his players can continue what would be viewed as an unlikely push for European competition during the final five months of the season.
As it stands following the draw in North London, Sunderland are sitting in eighth place in the table and are now just four points shy of the top four as they now focus their attention on Wednesday night’s return to the capital as they face Brentford. But where are Sunderland predicted to finish in this season’s Premier League and is a push for Europe a realistic possibility? We take a look at a predicted final table pieced together by the stats experts at Opta.
Opta’s latest predicted final Premier League table
1. Arsenal - 85.71 points 2. Manchester City - 77.10 points 3. Aston Villa - 73.80 points 4. Liverpool - 64.22 points 5. Chelsea - 59.28 points 6. Newcastle United - 56.26 points 7. Manchester United - 55.57 points 8. Brentford - 54.95 points 9. Brighton and Hove Albion - 53.30 points 10. Everton - 51.71 points 11. Crystal Palace - 51.70 points 12. Tottenham Hotspur - 51.65 points 13. Fulham - 51.01 points 14. Sunderland - 50.53 points 15. Bournemouth - 46.38 points 16. Leeds United - 41.97 points 17. Nottingham Forest - 38.51 points 18. West Ham United - 32.08 points 19. Burnley - 28.13 points 20. Wolverhampton Wanderers - 21.55 points
What did Regis Le Bris say about Spurs 1-1 Sunderland?
Regis Le Bris watched his Sunderland side draw 1-1 against Leeds United.placeholder image
Regis Le Bris watched his Sunderland side draw 1-1 against Leeds United. | AFP via Getty Images
Speaking after Sunday afternoon’s draw, the Black Cats boss: “We had a lack of energy and just one needle down, it was possible to switch on, which probably we were a bit lucky because in a Premier League game, when you don't play at your best, you should be punished. And it wasn't the case, so we were still alive.
“And we said, just switch on, do simple things well, because I think tactically we were OK. It was just a question of being more composed with the ball, the ability to win the first contact, because they went direct, as expected, against our man-for-man press. And we didn't win the first contact, the second ball, so the balance of the game was like that. And we had the character and the quality to switch on, and I think it's positive.”
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