NurPhoto via Getty Images
Saturday 16th August 2025
Sunderland v West Ham United
Premier League
Stadium of Light
Kick-Off: 15:00
Tickets & Match Coverage
Tickets: Tickets are sold out.
TV/Stream: Full live match coverage is unavailable in the UK - but we’re on Match of the Day later!
Radio: Full live match commentary available via BBC Radio Newcastle (not online)
Don’t forget to follow the blow-by-blow account of the game on the Roker Report Twitter feed (@RokerReport) and check out the player ratings after the full-time whistle atwww.RokerReport.com!
The build-up...
It’s been thirteen weeks since our day at Wembley and this summer has zipped by, but the last nine years since our last opening day fixture in the top flight - that ended in a 2-1 defeat at the City of Manchester Stadium against Pep’s Citeh - certainly hasn’t. A lot of it felt like an eternity.
The actual stuff on the pitch in pre-season has taken a backseat to the conveyor belt of eleven signings that have joined to boost the ranks, and there could well be more before the window is closed.
Between the sticks, Robin Roefs signed from NEC in the Netherlands to fight it out with Anthony Patterson for the number one jersey. At the back, we looked to have brought in a bit of much needed sh*thousery in Omar Alderete from Getafe in Spain for around the same money as Roefs, along with the free transfers of experienced full-backs Reinaldo Mandava (Athletico Madrid) and Arthur Masuaku (Besiktas) - who incidenatly played for West Ham when the two sides last met back in 2017.
In the middle of the park, we added to the early addition of Enzo Le Fee by adding Habib Diarra (£30m, Strasbourg), Noah Sadiki (£15m, Union SG) and of course Granit Xhaka (~£17m, Bayer Leverkusen), who this week has been appointed club captain for the season ahead.
Out wide, we’ve added pace and flair in the form of Simon Adringra (£20m, Brighton), who will add a bit of Premier League experience, and the exciting Chemsdine Talbi (£20m, Club Brugge) to hopefully give us a bit of creativity that might be vital in the final third. Because up top, we’ve added the exciting and highly-rated Marc Guiu on a season-long loan from Chelsea.
Off the pitch, we have a new Director of Football and a whole host of new coaches. The Stadium of Light has undergone a makeover, from new murals to new ways of buying a pint. There’s a buzz around the place, and this season is 38 games long, and every point is going to be vital.
We had a ridiculously huge chasm to climb to even be in a position to compete this season, and the club have gone out and given us a fighting chance of establishing ourselves.
We’ve paid our dues to be here, back in the Premier League. Let’s enjoy it.
Sunderland v Real Betis Balompie - Pre-season Friendly
Le Bris says relax Photo by Michael Driver/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
We had the pleasure to speak to Paul Ross from Talksport (although if you’re my age you might remember him more from back in the day on the Big Breakfast!), about his beloved West Ham United and how they’re shaping up for the opening day, so if you haven’t listened in yet you can do so here. Hope you enjoy it.
During the conversation, it was interesting to hear a West Ham fan talk about the notion of “the West Ham way” and say it’s all b*llocks. I think most people had an inkling, especially Sam Allardyce, because there seems to have been an undercurrent of frustration/boredom around the place for several years now, despite the fact that they have done ok.
Now, I realise I say “ok” as a Sunderland fan and it’s all relative, but in the last four or five years they’ve had three top-ten finishes and three years of playing in Europe, with one ending in lifting a European trophy. It’s not a trophy I think should exist, by the way, in my head it’s on a par with the Intertoto Cup, but you can’t deny in the eyes of UEFA that it’s a real trophy.
However, for reasons we can understand, they didn’t have a good feeling about David Moyes and started last season with Julen Lopetegui at the helm, who lasted until January as they were sitting 14th. Graham Potter was the man chosen to take on the job from then and finished the season in… erm… 14th.
Now, we’d snap your hand off for a 14th place finish, but West Ham fans are thinking their side should have kicked on by now and cemented their place in the top half and be on their travels around Europe in the Europa League or Conference League.
It doesn’t feel like Potter has too much credit in the bank and as Paul Ross told us, there’s a bit of pressure to claim maximum points today with their next four fixtures, reading Chelsea at home, Forest away and then Spurs and Palace at home.
Graham Potter Getty Images
The betting...
The bookies have the Lads at 21/10 to win the game and the Hammers are favourites at 13/10 and the draw is 23/10.
Head to head... at Sunderland
(All competitions)
Last time we met... at the Stadium of Light
Saturday 15th April 2017
Premier League
Sunderland 2-2 West Ham United
[Khari 26’, Borini 90’ - Ayew 5’, Collins 47’ (Byram sent-off 90’)]
Sunderland: Pickford, Jones (Borini), O’Shea, Denayer, Manquillo (Kne), Khazri, Cattermole (Januzaj), Gibson, Ndong, Anichebe, Defoe Substitutes not used: Mannone, Djilobodji, Rodwell, Pienaar
West Ham United: Randolph, Byram, Masuaku, Fernandes, Fonte, Collins, Snodgrass (Norveit), Kouyate, Carroll, Lanzini, Ayew (Calleri) Substitutes not used: Adrian, Cresswell, Rice, Feghouli, Fletcher
Attendance: 40,168
Fabio Borini celebrates scoring our last minute equaliser when the two sides last met.
Don Hutchison
I remember thinking he was a good player from seeing him play at Liverpool, West Ham United and Sheffield United in the early part of his career before he signed from Everton for £2.5m in the summer of 2000, but when he played for us, I realised he was even better.
For whatever reason, the Scottish international left Sunderland to sign for West Ham United for a second time the following summer for £5m and it was seemingly downhill from there for the Lads and the Peter Reid era.
Blergh. PA Images via Getty Images
Prediction…
Sunderland 1-1 West Ham United
My heart tells me we’re going to use the sell-out crowd at the Stadium of Light to sweep West Ham away and claim a comfortable three points, but my head is reminding me this is the Premier League and the Hammers have got some bloody good players. There seems to be a lot riding on either side, avoiding defeat rather than pushing for all three points - so I’m going for a score draw.