Man City v Sunderland: Line-ups, stats and preview

Man City v Sunderland preview

Manchester City will be hoping for a more solid defensive display when they welcome in-form Sunderland to the Etihad.

City have conceded leads in wins against Leeds and Fulham in the last week and were scrambling for a 5-4 win after being 5-1 up at Craven Cottage.

They have clicked in attack, though, with Erling Haaland reaching the 100 Premier League goals mark against Fulham.

Sunderland were unlucky not to win at Anfield in midweek but still go into the weekend in sixth place. Could they go one step further at City?

Man City v Sunderland team news

Manchester City are without midfielders Rodri and Mateo Kovacic so Nico Gonzalez should start again. Pep Guardiola may make some changes with more Champions League football on the horizon.

Sunderland are still without Habib Diarra and may play a back five again after success with the system at Anfield.

Manchester City v Sunderland predicted lineups

Manchester City starting XI: Donnarumma; Khusanov, Stones, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Gonzalez, Reijnders; Cherki, Foden, Doku; Haaland

Sunderland starting XI: Roefs; Hume, Mukiele, Ballard, Alderete, Reinildo; Xhaka, Sadiki; Talbi, Isidor, Le Fee

How to watch Man City v Sunderland: TV channel, online live streams

Kick-off on Saturday is at 15:00 GMT (10:00 ET / 07:00 PT). This match is not being shown on live TV or stream in the UK.

Man City v Sunderland stats

• Manchester City have won their last six Premier League games against Sunderland, with this the first meeting since a 2-0 away win in March 2017
• They have won 24 of their last 26 Premier League games against promoted sides (D2), with their last such defeat coming at home to Leeds in April 2021
• The Cityzens have won 11 of their last 12 Premier League home games, including each of the last six in a row. They’re the third team in Premier League history to lose their opening home match of a campaign then win the next six after Tottenham in 2011-12 and Arsenal in 2013-14, both of whom drew their next match
• Guardiola’s side have won all three of their Premier League games kicking off at 3pm on a Saturday this season by an aggregate score of 10-3. At home, they’ve won 22 of their last 25 games in this slot (D3), since a 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace in October 2021
• The total of eight goals City have conceded in their last three Premier League games is as many as they had in their previous 12 combined. Their 5-4 win against Fulham last time out was the first time they’d won a league game in which they conceded 4+ goals since December 1957 (5-4 vs Sheffield Wednesday)
• Phil Foden has scored four goals in his last two Premier League games, having netted just once in his previous 20 appearances. The only Man City player to score 2+ goals in three consecutive Premier League games is Erling Haaland (September 2024), while the last English player to do so in the competition (all clubs) was Tammy Abraham (September 2019)
• No team have won more points from losing positions in the Premier League than Sunderland this season (12, level with Aston Villa). Only in 1999-00 (15) and 2000-01 (13) have the Black Cats won more points from behind in a single campaign
• Sunderland have never won away in 13 attempts against Manchester City in the Premier League (D2 L11). Their last away top-flight win there was in December 1981 at Maine Road
• Man City have never lost a Premier League game at the Etihad against Sunderland in 11 meetings (W9 D2) – only Newcastle United (20) and West Brom (12) have played more games there without winning than the Black Cats
• Only against Blackburn (3) did Erling Haaland’s father (Alf Inge Haaland) score more Premier League goals than he did against Sunderland (2). His first goal for Manchester City in the competition came against the Black Cats in August 2000

Manchester City v Sunderland prediction

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