Sunderland host Fulham as both hunt first points

Recent form points opposite ways

Sunderland have won three of their last five recent matches, losing two. Fulham have won two of their last five, drawn one and lost two. The home side's most recent outing was a 1-2 defeat to Ipswich; Fulham's was a 3-0 win over Wimbledon. A win here would take either side to three points from two played; a draw leaves them on one point from two.

Head-to-head record heavily favours the visitors

The five most recent meetings have all gone Fulham's way or ended level. Sunderland have not won any of them: four defeats and one draw. The sequence stretches back to April 2018 and includes a 3-1 reverse in February and a 1-0 defeat last November. The five matches produced 15 goals in total, an average of three per game.

What the market expects

The market-implied probability gives Sunderland a 39.6 per cent chance of winning at home, Fulham 31.7 per cent and the draw 28.8 per cent. That narrow home advantage sits oddly against the head-to-head record, which has not gone Sunderland's way since 2018, and against recent results, where the home side have won more often. The market is pricing in a tighter contest than either the meetings or the form would suggest.

Confirmed line-ups

Sunderland (4-2-3-1): Robin Roefs, Reinildo Mandava, Thomas Meunier, Danny Ballard, Nordi Mukiele, Granit Xhaka, Nilson Angulo, Trai Hume, Noah Sadiki, Enzo Le Fée, Brian Brobbey

Fulham (4-2-3-1): Bernd Leno, Timothy Castagne, Calvin Bassey, Antonee Robinson, Joachim Andersen, Josh King, César Palacios, Alex Iwobi, Oscar Bobb, Sander Berge, Gonzalo García

We are covering this one live. Follow it with us in the match centre for the line-ups when they land, the goals as they go in, and the full timeline.