Credit: Imago

Cameron Smith

Fri 10 April 2026 16:10, UK

Sunderland welcome Tottenham Hotspur to the Stadium of Light as they look to spoil Roberto De Zerbi‘s welcome party.

Spurs turned to the Italian over the international break, who joins the club with the immediate goal of keeping the Lilywhites in the division.

After lifting the Europa League last May, Tottenham have stunned both themselves the rest of the division by finding themselves in a battle for their Premier League survival.

With seven matches to go, De Zerbi has been entrusted with not just rescuing the club, but instilling the values seen during his previous successful period, when he guided Brighton to the Europa League.

Sunderland were promoted to the top flight last May, and as they have done so often this season, will be looking to spoil the day for one of the league’s biggest clubs.

Form guide

Sunderland (last six games all comps): WLLWDL

Tottenham (last six games all comps): LWDLLL

Head-to-head

With the sides meeting back in early January, striker Brian Brobbey would equalise late on for the Black Cats as Sunderland faced Spurs for the first time since the 2016-17 campaign – a year that ended in relegation for the North East club.

Naturally, given the relative difference in success of the pair since the inception of the Premier League, it is Spurs who carry the better record, with 21 wins in total.

Though, past form will not mean too much heading into the weekend, with visitors Spurs continuing to struggle at the bottom end of the standings.

Team news and predicted lineups

On the team news front, similar issues continue to plague Tottenham, with multiple key players remaining sidelined, while wideman Mohammed Kudus has suffered a setback on his road to recovery and is not expected to feature for the rest of the season.

James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Wilson Odobert and Yves Bissouma remain on the long-term absentee list for Tottenham alongside Kudus, while Rodrigo Bentancur, Pape Matar Saar and shotstopper Guglielmo Vicario will all likely miss Sunday’s clash.

With up to five changes likely after the 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest before the international break, it is a far from ideal situation for De Zerbi to walk in to, with an extremely thin squad of players to choose from.

For Sunderland, doubts continue to surround Dan Ballard and Robin Roefs, while Bertrand Traore, Nilson Angulo, Romaine Mundle and Jocelin Ta Bi are not expected to return until at least the final weeks of the season.

Sunderland predicted XI: Ellborg; Geertruida, O’Nien, Alderete, Hume; Xhaka, Sadiki; Rigg, Diarra, Talbi; Brobbey

Tottenham predicted XI: Kinsky; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Gray, Bergvall; Kolo Muani, Simons, Tel; Solanke

We say: Sunderland 1-2 Tottenham

Heading into the weekend, the hope is that the old adage of ‘new manager bounce’ applies once again.

Spurs are in desperate need of a result, and the 3-0 defeat to Forest before the break should have kicked some life into the players when it comes to dragging the club out of this mess.

With De Zerbi now at the helm, the plan will be to keep the club in the division, before a complete reset from top to bottom over the summer.