Match Preview: Sunderland v Tottenham Hotspur — The Lads Return To Action!

A general view of the Stadium of Light during the Premier League match between Sunderland and Leeds United at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland, United Kingdom, on December 28, 2025. (Photo by Scott Llewellyn/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images) | NurPhoto via Getty Images

Sunday 12th April 2026

Sunderland v Tottenham Hotspur – Premier League

Stadium of Light – Kick-Off: 14:00

Tickets & Match Coverage

Tickets: Tickets are sold out.

TV/Stream: Full live match coverage is available on Sky Sports.

Radio: Full live match commentary available via BBC Radio Newcastle (not online)

Don’t forget to follow the blow-by-blow account of the game on the Roker Report Twitter feed (@RokerReport) and check out the player ratings after the full-time whistle at www.RokerReport.sbnation.com!

The build-up…

I genuinely have no clue what England’s results were over the break – and I only think they played Uruguay because I saw a headline, but I might be wrong – but it’s actually been a fun international window.

Now try to imagine having three weeks to stew over a derby-day defeat. At home. After being gifted the lead. Ah. It’s been fun. Having said all that, it feels good to be talking about the Lads being back in action, and today we entertain crisis club Tottenham Hotspur at the Stadium of Light.

Just seven games remain of our brilliant first season back in the Premier League, where we’ve defied all of the critics – even if we didn’t pick up another point – but although we would still be discussing how good it’s been, it would also be nice to go out on a high.

In case you missed it this week, Arsenal’s victory over Sporting in Portugal in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie had some potential significance. That victory confirmed the Premier League will have at least five teams in the Champions League next year after securing a European Performance Spot for the second successive season.

With just six points separating Liverpool, who currently occupy that fifth place, down to ourselves in eleventh, it means it’s there for anybody who sticks a good run together.

If that wasn’t enough to inspire, then there is the prospect of Aston Villa winning the Europa League and finishing in the current position, which would mean the side finishing sixth would also qualify. Then there’s the scenario where Villa win the Europa League, and Liverpool win the Champions League, and they finish fifth and sixth. In that case, the side finishing seventh would qualify for the Champions League.

It’s all exciting stuff that might eventually have us finish in a mid-table position – especially as we’re three without a win at home – but the point is that with seven games to go, we can talk about it, so let’s enjoy it.

Well, who would have predicted that we were looking up at what might be available to us with a good run-in with seven games to go, while having secured our Premier League status over a month ago, and Spurs in the relegation zone?

To put it into a little bit of context, they haven’t finished outside of the top eight in the Premier League since 2007-08 – when Michael Chopra scored the winner against them on the opening day in Roy Keane’s first season as manager in the top flight – as they finished eleventh. It’s also been seven years since they reached the Champions League final, and they are the current holders of the Europa League.

Having said that, they haven’t won in the last thirteen games in a run that stretches back to the 28th December, when a victory at Crystal Palace put them eleventh in the table at pretty much the halfway stage in the season.

Not only that, but they now have their third manager at the helm, and his first fixture in charge is travelling to the Stadium of Light today. In short, they’re in trouble.

All sorts of names were thrown into the mix since they parted ways with Igor Tudor – at one point, it wouldn’t have been a surprise if Harry Redknapp was in the opposition dugout today, but it was former Marseille and Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi.

The Italian’s first job is to simply stop the rot. Just five points have been collected from the previous 39 on offer, and just one of those points was taken in the last seven games, which came in a surprisingly good performance at Anfield.

The reception to the new manager was mixed, and a bad start to this seven-game run to save Spurs from an almost unthinkable relegation isn’t an option for De Zerbi.

The betting…

The bookies have the Lads and Spurs at 8/5 to win the game, while the draw is 23/10.

Head to head… at Sunderland

(All competitions)

• Sunderland wins: 22
• Draws: 18
• Spurs wins: 17
• Sunderland goals: 81
• Spurs goals: 60

Last time we met… at the Stadium of Light

Tuesday 31st January 2017

Premier League

Sunderland 0-0 Tottenham Hotspur

Sunderland: Mannone, Jones, Kone, O’Shea, Denayer, Manquillo, Rodwell, Ndong, Larsson, Borini (Honeyman), Defoe Substitutes not used: Domingues, Love, Lescott, Pienaar, Gooch, Januzaj

Tottenham Hotspur: Vorm, Walker, Rose (Davies), Wanyama, Alderweireld, Dier, Son (Sissoko), Dembele (Janssen), Alli, Eriksen, Kane Substitutes not used: Lopez, Wimmer, Carter-Vickers, Winks

Attendance: 40,058

Prediction…

Sunderland 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur

Who knows how this Spurs side will react to a new voice, and although we come off the back of a morale-boosting win up the road, we’ve struggled to find momentum in our last three outings at the Stadium of Light – so I’m going for a tight draw.