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Talking Tactics: West Ham United (H)

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Sunderland began life in the Premier League with an emphatic win against West Ham, with three goals scored and a clean sheet. Achieved with a team that included eight league debutants, things couldn’t have been planned better for Régis Le Bris and his men.

Whilst the step up in quality was apparent from the opening whistle, slight tactical tweaks allowed Le Bris to capitalise on a Hammers side that wasn’t quite at the races, so what did he do in order to maximise his opportunity and get Sunderland off to a winning start?

Sunderland lineup

Despite much of the team seemingly being nailed on, there were still several doubts over the starting lineup ahead of the game. However, come 13:45 on Saturday, Le Bris named the same side that won 1-0 away in Augsburg the week prior.

With seven league debutants in the starting eleven, only Dan Ballard, Trai Hume, Eliezer Mayenda and Jenson Seelt remained from Sunderland’s Championship squad. Robin Roefs and Reinildo Mandava debuted in the defence; Sunderland’s new-look midfield trio of Granit Xhaka, partnered with Noah Sadiki and Habib Diarra, lined up in the middle of the park, with Simon Adingra and Chemsdine Talbi on the wings.

Sunderland Line-Up v West Ham (H)

Fotmob

In typical Le Bris fashion, possession was more of an afterthought and therefore Enzo Le Fée missed out. Knowing that West Ham would like to retain possession, Le Bris opted for Sadiki to aid with the with defensive side of the game and set Sunderland up in his preferred 4-3-3 system.

Opposition lineup

Graham Potter made a surprise change to the widely expected starting starting eleven when the team sheets were announced. Despite starting all of the Hammers’ pre-season games, it was seen as a little too early to throw young prospect Freddie Potts straight into the team, and therefore Guido Rodriguez took his place.

Elsewhere, league staples Jarrod Bowen, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Lucas Paquetá and James Ward-Prowse all played in their usual roles with a debuts for El-Hadji Malick Diouf following his £17 million move from Slavis Prague. Elsewhere, Mads Hermansen came in between the sticks to make his debut following a £16 million move from Leicester earlier in the week.

West Ham Line-up (H)

Fotmob

In Potter’s usual style, West Ham opted to deploy a 3-5-2 system which saw Wan-Bissaka and Diouf provide the width, Paqueta able to dictate play from within the half-space behind the strikers, and a classic ‘big man, little man’ strike partnership which saw Bowen operate centrally off the shoulder of Niclas Füllkrug.

Ward-Prowse and Rodriguez shielded the back three and allowed West Ham to hold a numerical advantage in midfield during the build up phase.

Sunderland start to find their groove

Within the first few minutes, both sides fashioned good opportunities which required saves from both Roefs and Hermansen, with the latter pulling off a really smart save to deny Diarra after a flowing move between himself and Mayenda.

Sunderland v West Ham Gameflow

@BeGriffis

One thing that stood out immediately was the off-the-ball movement from all of the West Ham players.

Whether it was Diouf on the touchline, Jean-Clair Todibo at the back or Bowen’s decoy runs, the step up in actions off the ball is something that took Sunderland a little while to come to terms with, but it’s something we’re likely to see on the regular going forward.

Xhaka leads by example

With Paquetá known for his ability to dictate games in the final third, Xhaka was assigned to oversee man-to-man coverage, and he showed why Sunderland invested so heavily in the midfielder to lead our Premier League return. Covering in excess of 13km throughout the game, Xhaka was a constant thorn in Paquetá’s side, forcing the Brazilian into a 43% duel success rate.

SUNDERLAND, ENGLAND - AUGUST 16: Granit Xhaka of Sunderland and Lucas Paqueta of West Ham United during the Premier League match between Sunderland and West Ham United at Stadium of Light on August 16, 2025 in Sunderland, England. (Photo by Daniel Chesterton/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)

Offside via Getty Images

Every opportunity Paqueta had to receive the ball, Xhaka was there to pressure the Brazilian into going backwards to prevent movement on the half turn and ultimately forced him into uncomfortable situations whereby he received the ball between his defenders, with the untoward positioning ultimately costing him as it resulted in the corner from which Ballard’s header eventually came.

Although Xhaka’s passing wasn’t at its best, with only a 75% completion rate, he demonstrated an abundance of leadership qualities and determination to see his side over the line, and will remain the heartbeat of the side this season.

Zonal coverage

After West Ham were able to draw in Sunderland’s press a few times during the opening half hour, Le Bris quickly reshaped his midfield duo of Diarra and Sadiki and instructed them to switch from their man-to-man coverage assignments on Ward-Prowse and Rodriguez to a more zonal-style coverage in order to smother the ‘out to in’ moves of Bowen in transition — and it worked a treat.

By sacrificing some of their vertical pitch control, Sunderland were still able to retain a relatively structured mid-block but with the added safety net of Sadiki, in the event of one of West Ham’s midfielders breaking through the lines, he was able to quickly mop up any loose touches, boasting an impressive seven defensive actions including three interceptions.

Sunderland’s Zonal Marking

Dan_Harrison

With the natural athleticism of both Sadiki and Diarra surrounding Xhaka, the sheer ground they’re able to cover makes Sunderland’s midfield a defensive menace whether they opt to work and harry opponents in tight coverage or opt to cover zonal areas within the half-spaces either side of Xhaka.

Raising the Roefs

Part of the reason Roefs was outlined as Sunderland’s de-facto starting goalkeeper this season was down to his statistically impressive ability to make high claims and command his box well.

Given the set piece delivery threat of Ward-Prowse, he was called into action several times during the game and looked assured at every opportunity.

Roefs made one high claim and met three crosses with powerful punches to prevent West Ham’s aerial guard from attacking corners whilst also making four saves in the process to retain his clean sheet.

Having now gotten a small sample size by watching Roefs in the flesh, his vocality and desire to come off his line are attributes which will serve Sunderland well this season, and getting himself a debut clean sheet will do wonders for the his confidence as we head into matchday two.

SUNDERLAND, ENGLAND - AUGUST 16: Sunderland’s Robin Roefs punches clear during the Premier League match between Sunderland and West Ham United at Stadium of Light on August 16, 2025 in Sunderland, England. (Photo by Rob Newell - CameraSport via Getty Images)

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A Sunderland defensive masterclass

In all honesty, I could wax lyrical about the whole of Sunderland’s defence. However, I thought I’d provide a grouped spotlight of both Trai Hume and Reinildo, albeit for different reasons.

The former showed he was able to step up to the top division effortlessly, marshalling Malick Diouf and even taking on the mantle of Sunderland’s dedicated right-footed set piece taker.

Hume was also outstanding defensively, making nine defensive contributions and winning 8/13 of his individual duels whilst also keeping Diouf honest and limiting his only real crossing opportunities to deep positions, which allowed Roefs to often claim without pressure.

Sunderland Defensive Actions v West Ham

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Reinildo, on the other hand, was tasked with being Sunderland’s attacking full back and therefore had to avoid being overly exposed with the space he vacated, yet he covered a staggering 13.5km and still managed to retain a 100% tackle success rate in the process.

Reinildo had the most touches in the back four with 63, and played 12/32 completed passes into the final third, showing a real desire to support in the attacking phase.

Füllkrug in the pockets

Ballard, Seelt and Omar Alderete deserve massive plaudits for their first showing in the top flight, with a commanding display in the centre of defence.

Despite Seelt having a few early wobbles whilst dealing with the sheer skill of Bowen, the three defenders combined across the full game to give Füllkrug an afternoon to forget.

The German international is well known for his aerial ability, however he won only 3/19 duels on the day. He also finished with 0/9 from his ground duels and as noted by Statmuse, his 16 lost duels was the most recorded by a single player in Europe’s top five leagues since the 2023/24 season, ending a torrid afternoon for the striker.

Mainly shared between Ballard and Alderete, both defenders made life tough for the German and hooked around him at every opportunity, Ballard made 21 defensive contributions across the full game — including his magnificent sliding block off the line — and achieved a whopping 77% duel success rate, winning 10/13 overall.

TOPSHOT - Sunderland’s Northern Irish midfielder #05 Daniel Ballard (2L) heads home their second goal during the English Premier League football match between Sunderland and West Ham United at The Stadium of Light in Sunderland in north east England on August 16, 2025. (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or ‘live’ services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP via Getty Images)

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A special performance was capped off with a towering header to double Sunderland’s lead and rounded off an excellent day for Ballard, who looked every bit as much of a Premier League defender as any of his counterparts.

An early boost of confidence for the Lads

It’s important to focus on the relief and pressure release of picking up points on the opening day, let alone managing to win convincingly and keep a clean sheet, and that’s a huge boost of confidence for the team.

With the newly-promoted sides failing to pick up their first win until October during the 2024/2025 season, it reassures the players they can compete at this level, but the longer the club spends away from the relegation zone, the more realistic the concept of survival becomes.

Sunderland players form a huddle ahead of kick-off in the English Premier League football match between Sunderland and West Ham United at The Stadium of Light in Sunderland in north east England on August 16, 2025. (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or ‘live’ services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP via Getty Images)

AFP via Getty Images

With Turf Moor approaching on Saturday, the Lads will look to continue in the same manner when facing another side who operates in a similar system of five defenders. We can therefore expect more of the same, with a chance to really see where we stand against our fellow relegation candidates this season.

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