Manchester United will aim to lock down the third spot on the Premier League table when they take on Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Saturday.

The 2025/26 Premier League season has entered its endgame, and only three matchdays remain for the curtain call as battles across the table gather steam. Gameweek 36 will kick off this weekend, and the latest round of fixtures will start with the game between Liverpool and Chelsea at Anfield on Saturday afternoon before continuing with three simultaneous matches, including Sunderland vs Manchester United at the Stadium of Light.

Sunderland may have been one of the surprise packages of the 2025/26 Premier League season, but they are limping towards a lower mid-table finish. The Black Cats have been underwhelming in recent weeks, and they will head into Saturday’s match on the back of a three-game winless run in the top flight. However, all is not lost yet, and the Wearside outfit can still qualify for a European competition, as they are only four points behind seventh-placed Brentford.

On the other hand, Manchester United will not have much to play for in the final three games of the 2025/26 season. The Red Devils have endured an imfamously historic season, as they will play only 40 games this term. However, they have mounted a stunning recovery under Michael Carrick, securing a spot in the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League with three games left.

The reverse fixture saw Manchester United clinch a hard-fought 2-0 win over Sunderland, with Mason Mount and Benjamin Sesko finding the back of the net. The Hard Tackle looks closer at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.

Team News & Tactics

Sunderland

Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Roefs; Mukiele, Alderete, O’Nien, Hume; Diarra, Xhaka, Sadiki; Rigg, Brobbey, Le Fee

Manchester United

Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Lammens; Dalot, Maguire, Heaven, Shaw; Casemiro, Mainoo; Mbeumo, Bruno Fernandes, Cunha; Sesko

Key Stats

• Sunderland have won just three of their 33 Premier League games vs Manchester United (D6 L24), with their 24 defeats against the Red Devils their most against any opponent in the competition. Meanwhile, the Red Devils have suffered defeat on only one of their 15 visits to the Stadium of Light to face Sunderland in the Premier League (W10 D4), going down 2-1 in February 2016.
• Sunderland have not won their last 28 Premier League matches against teams starting the day in the top four of the table (D9 L19) since a 2-1 victory away at Chelsea in April 2014 under Gus Poyet.
• Since Michael Carrick’s first Premier League game in charge of Manchester United this season on January 17, Manchester United have won more points than any other side (32). Carrick has won more points in his 14 games than Ruben Amorim managed in his 20 games this season (31).
• Only Wolverhampton Wanderers (6), Burnley (7), and Nottingham Forest (10) have opened the scoring in fewer Premier League games than Sunderland this season (12). However, the Black Cats are one of three sides still unbeaten when scoring first (W7 D5) along with Forest (W8 D2) and Manchester United (W15 D7).
• Only Aston Villa (14.3) have overperformed their expected points more than Sunderland in the Premier League this season (10.2), who have 47 points and an expected points total of 36.8. Meanwhile, since Michael Carrick’s first game in charge in January, Manchester United have overperformed their xP more than any other side (11.3 – 32 points from 20.7 expected).

Player to Watch

Bruno Fernandes

While Granit Xhaka, Brian Brobbey, and Benjamin Sesko were viable candidates for this section, we have picked Bruno Fernandes as the Player to Watch for Saturday’s Premier League clash between Sunderland and Manchester United at the Stadium of Light.

The Manchester United skipper has created five or more chances in 14 different Premier League games in 2025/26. Since 2003/04, only Mesut Ozil has done so more often in a season (15 in 2015/16). His 120 chances created this season is the most by a United player in one campaign on record since 2003/04. With the assists record in sight, the Portuguese international will be the go-to player for the away side this weekend.

Prediction

Sunderland 1-3 Manchester United

A few months ago, this tie may have been a banana-skin fixture for Manchester United, as Sunderland could do little wrong, while they were blowing hot and cold. However, the Red Devils have been exceptional under Michael Carrick, and with Bruno Fernandes chasing the all-time Premier League assists record for a season, they will go all guns blazing.

Meanwhile, Manchester United have scored in their last 23 Premier League games since a 1-0 home loss to Everton in November. Only once have they enjoyed a longer scoring run in the competition, going 36 games between December 2007 and November 2008.

That streak should continue this weekend, with the visitors continuing their exceptional run under Carrick.