Sunderland will face the sternest test of their unbeaten home record in the Premier League this season when they host Manchester City at the Stadium of Light on Thursday.

The curtains will fall on Gameweek 19 of the 2025/26 Premier League season on Thursday. The day will feature only four matches, and the action on the day will start with two games before ending with simultaneous fixtures, including Sunderland vs Manchester City at the Stadium of Light.

Sunderland’s electric start to the 2025/26 season is a thing of the park, and the Black Cats have endured a topsy-turvy ride in recent weeks. While the Black Cats are on a three-match unbeaten run, they have won only two of their last nine Premier League games. Regis Le Bris and his men are still on course to break the curse of the promoted teams. However, the French tactician will be eager to see his team embark on a more consistent run once the festive period ends.

On the other hand, the festive period has brought the best out of Manchester City, with the Citizens embarking on a six-match winning run in the Premier League. While Pep Guardiola’s men have had to work hard for some victories, they are arguably the most in-form team in the Premier League.

The reverse fixture ended in a 3-0 win for Manchester City, with Luke O’Nien picking up a late red card. So, Sunderland must produce a much better performance to take anything from Thursday’s clash. The Hard Tackle looks closer at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.

Team News & Tactics

Sunderland

Regis Le Bris has received a positive update on the team news front ahead of his side’s latest fixture. The Sunderland manager may be bereft of the services of seven first-team players vs Manchester City on Thursday.

Luke O’Nien has served the suspension he picked up in the reverse fixture. Additionally, Dan Ballard is closing in on returning from an ankle injury. However, Aji Alese (shoulder) remains in the treatment room, while Arthur Masuaku, Reinildo Mandava, Noah Sadiki, Habib Diarra, Bertrand Traore, and Chemsdine Talbi are at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Robin Roefs is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Sunderland lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs Manchester City on Thursday. The backline will feature Trai Hume, Nordi Mukiele, Omar Alderete, and Dennis Cirkin.

As for the midifeld unit, Lutsharel Geertruida will line up alongside Granit Xhaka in the double pivot, with Enzo Le Fee reprising the no. 10 role. Finally, Brian Brobbey will lead the line for Sunderland, with Chris Rigg and Simon Adingra being the two wide attackers.

Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Roefs; Hume, Mukiele, Alderete, Cirkin; Xhaka, Geertruida; Rigg, Le Fee, Adingra; Brobbey

Manchester City

Like his counterpart in the Sunderland dugout, Pep Guardiola has no new issues hampering his preparations ahead of the trip to the Stadium of Light. The Manchester City manager will be without half a dozen first-team players on Thursday.

John Stones (knock), Jeremy Doku (calf), and Oscar Bobb (hamstring) are closing in on returning. However, Thursday’s game has come too soon for the trio. Meanwhile, Mateo Kovacic is a long-term absentee, while Rayan Ait-Nouri and Omar Marmoush are at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Gianluigi Donnarumma is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Manchester City lining up in a 4-1-4-1 formation in front of him vs Sunderland on Thursday. The backline will feature Matheus Nunes, Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol, and Nico O’Reilly.

As for the midfield unit, Nico Gonzalez will sit at the base, with Rayan Cherki and Tijjani Reijnders reprising advanced roles. Finally, Erling Haaland will spearhead the Manchester City attack against Sunderland, with Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva completing the numbers in the offensive third.

Probable Lineup (4-1-4-1): Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Gonzalez; Silva, Cherki, Reijnders, Foden; Haaland

Key Stats

• Sunderland have lost their last three Premier League home games vs Manchester City, having won four successive matches against them at the Stadium of Light before this run. Since playing a 2-2 draw in April 2014, Manchester City have won their seven subsequent Premier League ties with Sunderland, last enjoying a longer winning run against them between December 2002 and December 2009 (nine wins).
• Sunderland have not lost their first league game in the seven most recent calendar years (W3 D4) since a 1-0 home loss to Barnsley in 2018 in the EFL Championship.
• Manchester City have won their first league game in 18 of the last 19 years, including the 13 most recent years. The only exception in this run was a 1-0 defeat to Sunderland on New Year’s Day 2012.
• Manchester City have scored in their last 32 Premier League matches in January since a 4-0 defeat to Everton in 2017, netting 28 goals in their eight most recent game in January (W7 D1). It is the longest run of scoring in January games in top-flight history, while across the Football League, only Crewe Alexandra between 1960 and 1972 had a longer run (36).
• Manchester City have lost only one of their last 30 away Premier League matches against promoted clubs (W23 D6), losing 3-2 to Norwich City in September 2019. They are unbeaten in their 17 most recent outings on the road against promoted teams since that defeat at Carrow Road (W14 D3).
• Thursday’s clash will be Erling Haaland’s first Premier League match at the Stadium of Light. The Norwegian striker has scored at 22 of the other 23 venues he has played at (inc. the Etihad), failing only in three games at Anfield.

Player to Watch

Rayan Cherki

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While perennial FPL captaincy candidate Erling Haaland was a viable candidate for this section, we have picked Rayan Cherki as the Player to Watch for Thursday’s Premier League clash between Sunderland and Manchester City at the Stadium of Light.

The French international has been involved in eight goals in his last nine Premier League outings for Manchester City (G1 A7), scoring and assisting in a game for the first time this past weekend against Nottingham Forest. So, with Cherki in such form, he will be the go-to player for Pep Guardiola against Sunderland.

Prediction

Sunderland 1-2 Manchester City

Sunderland will take heart from Nottingham Forest’s performance against Manchester City this past weekend, and they will fancy their prospects this week. Additionally, the Black Cats have scored in each home game this season, and they will take the game to the away side.

However, Rayan Cherki has been exceptional in the last few weeks, and he will be the driving force behind a crucial victory for the visitors. The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-1 win for Pep Guardiola and his charges, with Cherki and Phil Foden delivering the goods.