- Team form: Sunderland have won six, drawn one and lost three of their last ten in all competitions.
- Recent form: Fulham have won two, drawn two and lost one of their last five in all competitions.
Sunderland and Fulham in a transition battle at Stadium of Light
Form and recent results
Sunderland have had a mixed week with three wins and two defeats coming into Sunday's game against Fulham, with their 2-1 loss at Ipswich Town yesterday putting a dampener on their moods.
Tactics
Fulham will look to disrupt those plans as they are now led by Álvaro Arbeloa.
They responded to a 1-2 home loss to Crystal Palace with a superb 1-0 victory over VfB Stuttgart and will approach Sunday's clash with Sunderland at 2.52 and 3.3 for the draw. Fulham are the narrow favorites at 2.7, but the gap is not wide enough to take The Black Cats given how closely matched these teams are on paper.
- Régis Le Bris' men have been pressing high in a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 system which has allowed them to be successful at turnovers, direct counter-attacks and set-pieces.
- Under new manager Álvaro Arbeloa, the Cottagers are more structured, pressing better in the 4-3-3 system with more discipline in their positional play and structure.
- The visitors have looked like they want to control possession more and are a bit more ruthless.
Sunderland could be set to draw for the third straight game
Fulham won the last meeting 3-1 six months ago, took the last two head-to-heads and avoided defeat in Sunderland's last two home games against them, so I'm going to give them the slight edge to edge this one.
This should be a close game with Sunderland desperate to get a second win this season. Le Bris' side are the more likely to press the action in this matchup, but Fulham have the better of the recent history and the tighter odds, so I'm taking The Cottagers to nick it.
The draw is still a clear runner-up in the match odds, but it may pay to look at Under 2.5 goals at 1.8 if you fancy a play on the scoreline markets, as a tight game looks likely. The Black Cats have a clear number 10 in Nilson Angulo, who has one goal in one Premier League appearance this season, but Fulham are the better side on paper and should come out at the top at the Stadium of Light.
