English Premier
2026-02-02 - Sunderland vs Burnley
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Monday 2nd February 2025 - Kick Off 8pm
This game is live on TV
Sunderland
After a long wait was ended to return to the Premier League, Sunderland will have known that this was going to be a season in which they could not expect to win every week. Regis Le Bris has to be given a lot of credit for where Sunderland sit in the Premier League table, but there is also little doubt they are suffering through a slump and he will expect a lot better than the performance shown in the 3-1 loss at West Ham United last weekend.
The Black Cats were 3-0 down at half time and by the end of the weekend they had slipped to 11th in the Premier League table, although this is still a remarkable position to be in at this stage of the campaign. Home form has been hugely important for Sunderland who have a 6-5-0 record at the Stadium of Light in the top flight.
Sunderland have won 1 of the last 8 games in all competitions in normal time, although they did beat Everton on Penalties in the FA Cup Third Round during that time too. In what has been something of a feature of Sunderland games this season, the side fought from behind to beat Crystal Palace 2-1 in the last League game here having drawn with Leeds United and Manchester City in the previous 2 home games.
Granit Xhaka was surprisingly ruled out last week and he is set to miss this fixture too.
Burnley
The weekend ended with the three clubs above Burnley all picking up vital points and that will have stung after Scott Parker's team allowed Tottenham Hotspur to score an injury time equaliser at Turf Moor. Instead of being a point gained overall, it will have felt like two dropped considering West Ham United and Nottingham Forest both earned victories.
Keeping that in mind, Burnley are now 10 points from safety in 19th place in the Premier League table and that will have increased the pressure on the players. They go out last this weekend, which means that gap to Nottingham Forest could be even wider, while Burnley make the trip across the country with a 1-2-8 away record.
Burnley are unbeaten in 4 games in all competitions, but the sole victory in that time came in the FA Cup Third Round and the side have drawn each of the last 3 Premier League games played. That is not going to be enough to get up to the points that are going to be needed to avoid the drop and Burnley have not won any of the last 14 Premier League games played. However, the side have drawn 2 of the last 3 away from home in the top flight.
Joe Worrall and Zien Flemming are both hoping to be passed fit, while Connor Roberts is another getting closer to a return.
Head to Head
Back in August, Burnley beat Sunderland 2-0 at Turf Moor, but the seasons have developed very differently for the teams promoted together at the end of last season.
Sunderland had not won any of 3 home games against Burnley, but did beat them 1-0 at the Stadium of Light in August 2024 in the Championship.
Prediction
The final game of the Premier League weekend may have been seen as one that would feature relegation rivals when the fixture list was released in June.
Unfortunately for Burnley fans, that has proven to be the correct assessment for Scott Parker's team, but Sunderland have hugely overachieved and continue to sit in mid-table.
Recent form has been a bit more inconsistent, but Regis Le Bris will point to factors like the African Cup of Nations and a tough fixture list as being partly responsible for the lack of recent wins.
However, that will not be excused behind the scenes and the manager cannot be at all happy with the performance in the loss at West Ham United last weekend. Being down 3-0 at half time at a club struggling for form would have stung, although the second half was much better and this Monday Sunderland are at home where they have really thrived.
It is a relatively long trip for Burnley, who could have a couple of key players after injury, and Scott Parker's team have been struggling for form on their travels. They did draw at Liverpool last time out and have also recently held Bournemouth to a draw, but Burnley need wins if they are going to close up the gap to Nottingham Forest in 17th and those have simply not been forthcoming.
You have to feel that Burnley are always going to be in a position to earn a positive result here against a Sunderland team that have not been scoring too many goals.
However, The Black Cats have been so much better at home and they make enough use out of the set pieces and long throws to believe they will eventually break down this Burnley team.
Defensively Sunderland have been pretty good in home games and that may help them keep Burnley at arm's length and it would not be a big surprise if we have the same scoreline as last season- 1-0- when these teams meet again.
Backing Sunderland feels like a short price though and instead it may pay to back at least one of the teams to fail to score.
That has been the case in the last 4 between Burnley and Sunderland, including both League games last season and the reverse fixture at Turf Moor in August, and the first goal could go a long way to deciding the outcome of the match.
Out of the two teams, it does feel more important for Burnley to score first, but it may not be a game featuring a lot of high quality chances and so a low-scoring game looks likely. The under looks short, even if it protects against the 1-1 scoreline, but backing at least one team to fail the net is the play at a slightly bigger price than backing a home victory, which still feels the most likely outcome.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Sunderland 2-0 Burnley
