Sunderland vs Brentford Predictions

• Sunderland beat West Ham 3-0 in their home opener.
• Brentford lost at Nottingham Forest in their league opener.
• The Black Cats made wholesale changes for their midweek cup loss.

Sunderland host Brentford in probable six-pointer

Sunderland and Brentford meet in the Premier League on Saturday in a clash between two sides who will be prioritising avoiding the drop down to the Championship.

The Black Cats made a perfect start by seeing off West Ham 3-0, before falling to a 2-0 defeat at fellow newly-promoted side Burnley last weekend.

Brentford were beaten 3-1 at Nottingham Forest in the opening round of games but new boss Keith Andrews secured a first league win last weekend with an impressive 1-0 victory over Aston Villa in west London, the Bees followed that up with an EFL Cup win at Bournemouth on Tuesday.

Black Cats appeal as underdogs

In terms of form there isn’t a great deal to go on at this stage and there have been some big changes to both squads over the summer, but taking the prices into consideration backing Sunderland to claim the points stands out.

Sunderland impressed in their win over West Ham and to a certain extent they were unlucky at Burnley. Regis Le Bris’ team had more chances than the Clarets at Turf Moor and had more possession, but poor finishing let them down.

In contrast, the Bees were a tad fortunate to beat both Villa and Bournemouth, while Sunderland made wholesale changes for their own EFL Cup game in midweek so we can probably disregard that defeat to Huddersfield on penalties. With home advantage, Sunderland may be able to get a win over the line against a team who could prove to be a direct rival this season.

Both teams can get on the scoresheet

Brentford have been effective in attack despite Bryan Mbeumo’s exit and the absence of Yoane Wissa, who hasn’t featured this season ahead of an anticipated move of his own.

The Bees are yet to draw a blank after three games and they can at least keep that run going on Wearside.

As such, a 2-1 win for Sunderland seems a reasonable correct score prediction and Eliezer Mayenda looks a candidate for an anytime goal.

Mayenda was on target against the Hammers in that 3-0 win and he recorded a decent haul of 10 goals in 40 Championship games last term.