ENGLISH PREMIER BETTING PREVIEW - BOURNEMOUTH VS SUNDERLAND

English Premier

2026-10-18 - Bournemouth vs Sunderland

A Sports Betting Preview by Auls

Bournemouth v Sunderland
Football: English Premier League
Sunday 18th October 2026 - Kick Off 2pm
This game is live on TV

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Bournemouth

The Europa League has been won by a club from the English Premier League in each of the last two seasons and Bournemouth's first adventure in any UEFA competition has begun with consecutive victories. Marco Rose will be hoping the 3-0 win over Sturm Graz on Thursday can give his team a lift and help them push forward for a first Premier League win under his guidance.

The Cherries are 18th in the Premier League table going into this weekend and they are one of three teams that have yet to win a fixture in the top flight. A win would take Bournemouth out of the bottom three, but they have a 0-2-1 record at the Vitality Stadium where they have scored 3 goals and conceded 4.

Bournemouth have suffered consecutive Premier League defeats either side of the extended international break against Liverpool and Chelsea, but the win on Thursday night will have restored some confidence. The side have won a couple of Cup ties in front of the home fans, but Bournemouth's Premier League form at the Vitality Stadium has led to a single win in 10 attempts here.

Alex Scott is a long-term absentee and not expected back before the next international break. The manager was able to use the squad depth to make some changes to the starting eleven for the win in the Europa League and he will restore some key players for this Premier League fixture.

Sunderland

An injury time goal spared Sunderland's blushes as they beat Torreense in the Europa League after the Portuguese second tier club took a shock lead on Thursday. Regis Le Bris made wholesale changes to the first eleven as he continues to try and balance the domestic and European commitments and the manager is aware that Sunderland's start to this season has been a little disappointing.

The opening Premier League fixture list looked difficult on paper and Sunderland have earned just 4 points from a possible 18 which leaves them in 17th place in the Division. The Black Cats have a 0-1-2 away record in the top flight and they have scored 5 goals and conceded 8 in those matches.

Sunderland have lost 3 Premier League games in a row against Arsenal, Manchester City and Brighton, although they have had their opportunities in those games before slipping to a defeat. Cup successes have kept the squad motivated and confident, while Sunderland's win on Thursday has snapped a 3 away game run without a victory.

Wilson Isidor is expected to make the long trip down to the South Coast with the Sunderland squad. Players like Granit Xhaka, Enzo Le Fee and Brian Brobbey should be restored to the starting eleven.

Head to Head

Sunderland took four points from Bournemouth in the Premier League last season.

The fixture at the Vitality Stadium ended 1-1 in February.

Bournemouth have hosted Sunderland 6 times previously and won just once.

Prediction

Last season Bournemouth proved to be the draw specialists in the Premier League with almost half of the 38 League games played ending with the points being shared.

There are some signs of that being the case again this season as Bournemouth have drawn half of the fixtures played, although the concern for Marco Rose is that his team have yet to win. Under Andoni Iraola last season, Bournemouth were only beaten 7 times in the Premier League, but the 5-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge last Saturday means they have suffered 3 losses in this campaign.

Bournemouth have to balance playing on Thursday and then Sunday and the only home loss of the season was in a fixture played after Match Day 1 of the Europa League.

The manager did make some changes to the starting eleven and Bournemouth hosted on Thursday, which can help, especially as they are facing an opponent that is travelling back from Portugal having played on the same day.

Regis Le Bris will be glad Sunderland have maintained the 100% start to the Europa League, but like Marco Rose, he will be keen to see Sunderland start picking up regular Premier League points.

Sunderland have lost 3 League games in a row, but those have been against opponents who currently occupy the top three places in the early table. They gave Arsenal and Manchester City a scare before being defeated and Sunderland did make wholesale changes to the starting eleven in the win over Torreense on Thursday.

This is a difficult match to call with both teams coming off the Europa League successes and there may not be much between Bournemouth and Sunderland.

It would not be a surprise if both teams are able to hit the back of the net in this fixture, but this may be a fixture that ends in similar fashion to last season when 1-1 was the final scoreline.

A small interest in the draw looks the best way to get into this fixture, although there are likely going to be some opportunities for either team to secure the win.

The Pick :

Bournemouth 1-1 Sunderland

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

I'll back the Draw at 3.60 with BetFred