Sunderland have been solid defensively this season, but how has their attack performed?
Sunderland have hit a bit of a bump in the road recently, but it’s still been an excellent season so far.
The Black Cats have won just two of their last 10 Premier League matches, losing four of them, including the last two without scoring a goal. Even so, they remain 11th in the table, just six points adrift of the top six, and 12 points clear of the relegation zone.
Sunderland’s incredible adjustment to life back in the top flight has definitely been fuelled by a strong defence, with Regis Le Bris’ men conceding just 30 goals in 26 matches. Only the top three have conceded fewer, while Robin Roefs is fourth among Premier League goalkeepers for clean sheets (8). But how are Sunderland performing at the other end of the pitch?
Sunderland xG compared to Premier League rivals
Chelsea - 54.30
Arsenal - 51.27
Man City - 51.15
Man Utd - 49.80
Liverpool - 47.29
Brentford - 46.50
Bournemouth - 45.01
Crystal Palace - 44.30
Newcastle United - 43.81
Leeds United - 40.28
Brighton - 38.61
Aston Villa - 35.37
Everton - 33.58
West Ham - 32.44
Nottingham Forest - 32.06
Tottenham - 31.58
Fulham - 31.44
Sunderland - 26.40
Burnley - 24.73
Wolves - 23.93
While Sunderland have been airtight at the back, their attack has struggled to click, sitting 18th in the Premier League for xG, only above the bottom two of Burnley and Wolves. What’s more, the Black Cats trail the next team up, Fulham, by 5.04. Of course, the two sides lock horns at the Stadium of Light on Sunday in a match with the potential to be decided by just a single goal, based on the stats. Sunderland have actually overperformed their xG by 0.60, netting 27 goals so far, which is a total only better than Nottingham Forest (25) and Wolves (18). The top scorer in Le Bris’ squad is Brian Brobbey with just five goals, while the Dutchman is one of just five players at the club to net more than one league goal this season.
Sunderland are one of just six teams to overperform their xG so far this season, alongside Tottenham Hotspur (4.42), Fulham (3.56), Burnley (3.27), Aston Villa (1.63) and Manchester City (2.85). Thankfully for Sunderland, none of this truly matters, thanks to the mammoth defensive effort put in by Roefs, Nordi Mukiele, Omar Alderete, Granit Xhaka and others.
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