Everton vs Sunderland: Preview and Prediction

Everton and Sunderland will be eager to return to winning ways when they lock horns at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Sunday.

The 2025/26 Premier League season is reaching an engrossing conclusion, with battles across the table fascinating the onlookers. The action on Sunday will kick-start with the game between Manchester United and Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford before continuing with four simultaneous matches, including Everton vs Sunderland at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Everton’s hopes of qualifying for a European competition have been gradually disappearing in recent weeks. The Toffees have been tumbling in the Premier League standings since beating Chelsea 3-0, a result that created faint securing a spot in next season’s UEFA Champions League. David Moyes’s men are on a five-match winless run, dropping to tenth on the table, six points behind sixth-placed Bournemouth.

As for Sunderland, the Black Cats have been on a similarly frustrating run in recent weeks, and they come into Sunday’s match on the back of a four-game streak without a win. Despite the downturn in form and fortunes, Regis Le Bris’s men have been one of the surprise packages of the 2025/26 season. However, with European qualification unlikely, the best the Wearside outfit can do is finishing in the top half.

Everton and Sunderland have already clashed twice this season, with both games ending in a 1-1 draw in regulation time; the Black Cats won the FA Cup match on penalties. The Hard Tackle looks closer at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.

Team News & Tactics

Everton

Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Pickford; O’Brien, Keane, Tarkowski, Mykolenko; Garner, Iroegbunam; Rohl, Dewsbury-Ball, Ndiaye; Beto

Sunderland

Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Roefs; Geertruida, Mukiele, Alderete, Reinildo; Xhaka, Sadiki; Hume, Le Fee, Talbi; Brobbey

Key Stats

• Having lost five of their first seven Premier League games against Sunderland (W1 D1), Everton have since lost just four of the last 26 meetings (W16 D6). The Black Cats have lost eight of their ten most recent Premier League away games against Everton (W2), going down 6-2 (November 2015) and 2-0 (February 2017) in their last two visits.
• Sunday’s match will be Sunderland’s first Premier League game at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium. The Black Cats have lost in 46 of the 52 grounds they have played in the competition (88.5%), with only Fulham (90%) losing in a higher share among teams to have played at 50 or more grounds.
• Everton have lost their final home league match in just one of the last ten seasons (W8 D1), winning the five most recent such games since a 3-1 loss to Bournemouth in 2019/20. On the other hand, Sunderland have lost their final away league game in six of the last nine seasons, winning the other three consecutively between 2020/21 and 2022/23.
• Everton are winless in their last five Premier League games (D3 L2), their longest run without a win this season. They have conceded at least twice in all five games, with the Toffees last having a longer run of conceding two or more goals in October/November 2020 (6).
• Sunderland have drawn 12 Premier League games this season, only having more in the 2014/15 campaign (17). Four of these have been goalless stalemate, with the Black Cats only having more goalless draws in 2014/15 (9) and 2011/12 (5).

Player to Watch

Beto

While Granit Xhaka, Noah Sadiki, and James Garner were viable candidates for this section, we have picked Beto as the Player to Watch in Sunday’s Premier League match between Everton and Sunderland at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

The 28-year-old is Everton’s top scorer in the Premier League this season with nine goals. Five of these strikes have come in his last five appearances, after he netted just four in his first 30 outings this term. With Beto in such scintillating form, he will be the go-to player for the home side this weekend.

Prediction

Everton 1-1 Sunderland