ENGLISH PREMIER BETTING PREVIEW - SUNDERLAND VS MANCHESTER CITY

English Premier

2026-01-01 - Sunderland vs Manchester City

A Sports Betting Preview by Auls

Sunderland v Manchester City
Football: English Premier League
Thursday 1st January 2025 - Kick Off 8pm
This game is live on TV

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Sunderland

A host of players are currently playing at the African Cup of Nations and that has perhaps slowed some of the Sunderland momentum in the Premier League. Despite that, Regis Le Bris and his players have shown plenty of character to continue to churn out the points and Sunderland are set up to be organised and resilient.

The Black Cats had to settle for a point last weekend and they are 7th in the Premier League table at the start of this latest round of fixtures. However, the standings could look quite different by the time Sunderland kick off on Thursday at the Stadium of Light where they have a 5-4-0 record in the top flight.

Sunderland have lost 1 of the last 6 Premier League games played, although 3 of those have ended with the points shared including last time out against Leeds United. That result snapped a run of consecutive Premier League wins at the Stadium of Light.

Luke O'Nien is back after serving a suspension, but Dan Ballard is a doubt.

Manchester City

Pep Guardiola will state in public that he is only concerned with Manchester City and the results they are putting together, but the Spaniard may keep a close eye on the Arsenal vs Aston Villa match to be played earlier in the week. In reality Manchester City are in control of their own destiny and know if they can keep winning, they will win the Premier League title again, while Antoine Semenyo could be a big addition who may be announced as soon as Thursday.

The side scored late to beat Nottingham Forest on Saturday and that means Manchester City are still 2nd in the Premier League table and just 2 points behind Arsenal leading the way. They have a 5-1-3 away record in the top flight following the win at the City Ground and Manchester City have scored 18 goals and conceded 11 in those matches.

Manchester City have won 8 in a row in all competitions, including 6 straight Premier League victories. After the November international break, Manchester City were beaten at St James' Park, but they have responded by winning 4 away games in a row.

John Stones, Oscar Bobb and Jeremy Doku are edging closer to a return, but all three may have to wait a little longer.

Head to Head

Manchester City were 3-0 winners at home against Sunderland last month.

They have also won on their last 4 visits to the Stadium of Light, although the last of those was back in March 2017.

Prediction

Depending on the result at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday, there is the potential for Manchester City to finish the first day of the 2026 calendar year in top spot in the Premier League table.

Pep Guardiola will be most happy if Manchester City are in that position at the end of May and his only focus is to help the team win a ninth game in a row in all competitions.

Momentum is with Manchester City and they are showing they have qualities around Erling Haaland that makes them dangerous. Having a settled lineup has also allowed Manchester City to build up some rhythm and consistency in their overall performances and the side have looked a little surer of themselves at the back.

Regis Le Bris will set his Sunderland team up to be defensively sound and look to counter Manchester City with direct football, but this team are missing a number of important players. A system tweak may be needed to make sure Sunderland have enough bodies to deal with the Manchester City attacking threat, but they struggled with Leeds United getting forward and this match may be similar to when the teams met at the Etihad Stadium.

That will mean Sunderland offering plenty themselves, but perhaps lacking the intensity to cope with Manchester City for a full ninety minutes.

Credit has to be given to this group of players for making the Stadium of Light a fortress through the first half of the season, but Sunderland may need Manchester City to slip from the current standards being set. The Black Cats are unlikely to roll over easily, but Manchester City may just have a little too much in the final third at both ends of the pitch and that can see them keep the pressure on the title rivals by winning a seventh Premier League game in succession and the fifth in a row on their travels overall.

The Pick :

Sunderland 0-2 Manchester City

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

I'll back Manchester City - 1.25 Asian Handicap at 1.91 with Cloudbet