Sunderland vs Fulham: two defeats and a lopsided record

Sunderland and Fulham meet at the Stadium of Light on Sunday afternoon as the only fixture of the round in which both sides lost their opening match.

It is also, on recent evidence, one of the least balanced head-to-heads in the division — which sits awkwardly with the bookmakers making Sunderland favourites at around +145.

Two defeats of different kinds

Sunderland lost 2-1 at Ipswich Town, in a match they equalised in and then lost to a goal in the 90th minute. It was the sort of afternoon that leaves nothing at all to hold on to: competitive from first minute to last, level with ten minutes to play, and beaten in the final one.

Fulham lost 2-3 at home to Chelsea in the London derby and did it while having 61.5% of the ball. They fell behind after sixty seconds, equalised on 23 through Josh King, went 1-3 down by the 49th minute and pulled it back to 2-3 through a Gonzalo García header on 54.

The last thirty-six minutes produced nothing. Fulham finished with fourteen shots to Chelsea's eighteen, and the same six on target as their visitors — a match decided by distribution across the ninety minutes rather than by volume.

A record that has gone one way

Fulham have won four of the last five meetings between these two. They won 3-1 at the Stadium of Light in February 2026 and 1-0 at Craven Cottage in November 2025 — both in the current era — and before that 3-2 at Sunderland in February 2023 and 2-1 at home in April 2018.

The exception is a 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage in January 2023. Sunderland have not beaten Fulham in any of the last five.

Two of those four Fulham wins came at the Stadium of Light, which removes the easiest explanation. This is not a record built on home advantage.

Neither played in midweek

Both had the week clear, which puts them in the minority this round. Four of Sunday's participants played a cup tie on Tuesday or Wednesday; these two did not.

That makes the match a cleaner test than several others on the card. Whatever happens, neither side will be able to point at three days' rest as the reason.

It also means Álvaro Arbeloa, in his first season at Fulham, has had a full week to work on what went wrong in the second half against Chelsea — specifically the passage between the 41st and 49th minutes in which the match was lost.

The tactical question

Fulham's opening weekend raises a familiar problem: what to do with the ball once you have it. Sixty-one per cent possession and a home defeat is a combination that repeats unless the final third improves.

Against Sunderland they are likely to have it again. The home side spent their opening match reacting rather than dictating, and a Stadium of Light crowd that has waited a long time for this level will expect intensity rather than control.

Sunderland's route is the one Chelsea used at Craven Cottage: concede the ball, strike early and often, and accept a long final half-hour. It worked four days ago in the same stadium Fulham call home.

What is on the line

Sunderland are fourteenth with nothing; Fulham are twelfth, also with nothing but with a goal more scored. Whoever loses on Sunday will have taken no points from two matches, which in August is uncomfortable rather than serious, but it is a start that takes weeks to shake off.

For Sunderland there is the additional weight of the record: five meetings without a win against this opponent, two of the defeats at home. Ending that in front of their own crowd would be worth more than the three points.

Where the table has them

Fulham are twelfth and Sunderland fourteenth, separated only by goals scored — both have none, both lost, and both conceded more than they scored by a single goal.

That symmetry is unusual this early and it makes the fixture more evenly matched than either the head-to-head or the odds imply. One of them will leave with their first point or points of the season; the other will have taken none from two.

Kick-off is 14:00 BST, one of three simultaneous Sunday matches. The opening weekend produced seven home wins from ten, which is the argument for Sunderland; the last five meetings produced four Fulham wins, which is the argument against.

Neither of these clubs featured in the League Cup second round in midweek, so both have had a full week on the training ground — a luxury four of Sunday's ten participants did not get.

"Fulham have won four of the last five between them, two at the Stadium of Light. Both sides lost last weekend, and neither has a midweek fixture to blame on Sunday."