English Premier
2026-09-05 - Brentford vs Sunderland
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 5th September 2026 - Kick Off 3pm
Brentford
Despite conceding late at Elland Road, Brentford's opening two performances in the Premier League are hugely encouraging for Keith Andrews and the fanbase. They only just missed out on European Football at the end of last season, but Brentford look more than capable of making amends in May 2027 as they prepare to play a second home League game of the season.
Most Brentford fans will be very happy with a return of 4 points having seen the team face Tottenham Hotspur and Leeds United, while progress in the domestic Cup competitions is hugely important to the club. Home form has always felt important for Brentford since returning to the top flight and that is where any foundation for European Football is likely to be laid.
Brentford have crushed Birmingham City in the League Cup Second Round and that means they have lost 1 of the last 7 games in all competitions. They did struggle to turn draws into wins at the Gtech Community Stadium in the latter months of the 2025/26 season, although Brentford have recorded successive 3-0 wins here either side of the summer break.
Mathias Jensen and Joshua Dasilva are both doubts.
Sunderland
They had been the better team for the majority of the home Premier League fixture against Fulham, but Regis Le Bris will still have been relieved when Sunderland finally got in front. The first three points of any season feel important and the manager was then backed in the transfer market just before the summer window closed to give Sunderland a squad capable of building on the surprising successes of last season.
Europa League Football will begin for Sunderland later this month, but the focus will be on producing a couple more positive Premier League results before that UEFA competition gets underway. The Black Cats will note they were beaten at Ipswich Town on the opening weekend of the season and Sunderland will be hoping for a better performance all around as they head out on their travels again.
Sunderland have lost 1 of the last 6 Premier League games and the victory over Fulham means they have won 3 of the last 4 in the Division. The side had ended last season with a single defeat in 6 away Premier League games played, but that did not prevent Sunderland from losing at Portman Road last month.
Kevin Danso and Malick Fofana were the big deadline day moves and both should be available to travel this weekend. Dayann Methalie is also hoping to make his debut, but Habib Diarra is a doubt.
Head to Head
Both Brentford and Sunderland won home Premier League games against the other last season.
Brentford are unbeaten in 4 when hosting Sunderland and half of those matches have ended in victory.
Prediction
The most immediate reaction to the prices on the win-draw-win market is that the layers are giving Brentford a lot of respect for the first two performances of the season.
To be fair, you cannot really argue with Brentford being a favourite, but Sunderland are not a team that will roll over easily and that makes the price feel a little unfair.
Keith Andrews has to be very happy with the level his Brentford team have produced so far this season and avoiding the big turnover of playing staff will certainly help. Brentford had a relatively poor end to the season with draws piling up and that cost them a place in any European competition, but the squad are experienced and the summer transfer activity has improved the options.
Brentford have created a lot of chances in the first couple of games and will be encouraged by the attacking performance Ipswich Town had against Sunderland on the opening weekend.
The Black Cats responded very positively when beating Fulham last Sunday, but playing away from home is more challenging and Sunderland will have to show resilience. Regis Le Bris will want his team to get forward to test this Brentford backline, but containing The Bees at the Gtech Community Stadium can be very difficult for the best teams.
The chances that Brentford have created in the first couple of Premier League games are highly encouraging and it may just give them the edge to lead to three more points in front of the home supporters.
Sunderland almost did enough to extend the decent run away from home when holding Ipswich Town 1-1 into injury time, but they conceded late and the newly promoted club had done enough to win.
A similar performance will not be enough against a much more experienced team in Brentford and the West London club may be able to score at least twice in a winning effort.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Brentford 2-1 Sunderland
