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
David Moyes has received a positive update on the team news front ahead of his side’s latest fixture. The Everton manager will be bereft of the services of only two first-team players vs Sundelrand on Sunday.
Idrissa Gueye should be fit and available to take on Sunderland this weekend after struggling with a knock in the last few weeks. So, Jarrad Branthwaite (hamstring) and Jack Grealish (foot) are the only absentees, with the English duo done for the season.
Jordan Pickford is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Everton lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs Sunderland on Sunday. The backline will feature Jake O’Brien, Michael Keane, James Tarkowski, and Vitaliy Mykolenko.
As for the midfield unit, Tim Iroegbunam will line up alongside James Garner in the double pivot, with Idrissa Gueye being a backup option on the bench. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall will reprise the no. 10 role, with Iliman Ndiaye and Merlin Rohl being the two wide attackers; the latter will often drift inwards and allow Dewsbury-Hall to express himself freely. Finally, Beto will lead the line for Everton against Sunderland this weekend.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Pickford; O’Brien, Tarkowski, Keane, Mykolenko; Iroegbunam, Garner; Rohl, Dewsbury-Ball, Ndiaye; Beto
Sunderland
Unlike his counterpart in the Everton dugout, Regis Le Bris has a new roster issue to worry about ahead of the trip to the Hill Dickinson Stadium. The Sunderland head coach will be without four first-team players on Sunday.
The Wearside outfit failed with an appeal over Daniel Ballard’s red card against Wolverhampton Wanderers. So, the suspended centre-back will not play again this season. Meanwhile, Simon Moore (wrist), Romaine Mundle (hamstring), and Bertrand Traore (knee) are in the treatment room.
There is no looking past Robin Roefs between the sticks, with Sunderland lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs Everton on Sunday. The backline will feature Lutsharel Geertruida, Nordi Mukiele, Omar Alderete, and Reinildo Mandava.
As for the midfield unit, Granit Xhaka and Noah Sadiki pick themselves in the double pivot, with Enzo Le Fee reprising the no. 10 role. Finally, Brian Brobbey will spearhead the Sunderland attack against Everton, with Chemsdine Talbi and Trai Hume being the two wide attackers.
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
The two teams have been on a frustrating run in recent weeks, and their urgency to return to winning ways will lead to haphazard action, creating an evenly-contested affair. However, the match should not trouble the scorers regularly, considering the visitors’ scoring issues in the first half and their defensive solidity.
Only Wolverhampton Wanderers (11) have scored fewer first-half goals than Sunderland (12) in the Premier League this season, with the Black Cats netting a league-high 68% of their goals this term after half-time (25/37). Meanwhile, only Arsenal, Manchester City and Crystal Palace have kept more clean sheets than Sunderland in the Premier League this season (11). It is the most by a promoted club in a single campaign since Leeds in 2020/21 (12).
With Everton also enduring a rollercoaster ride at each end of the pitch, one should expect a scratchy performance from the home side. Ultimately, there may not be much to separate the two teams, and The Hard Tackle predicts a 1-1 draw.