Sunderland vs West Ham United Predictions

• West Ham won their final two away Premier League matches last season
• Sunderland have lost recent home friendlies to Rayo Vallecano and Real Betis
• Jarrod Bowen scored in four of West Ham’s six matches against promoted clubs in 2024-25

Potter’s men positive ahead of new campaign

West Ham will be looking to set the tone for a better campaign when they travel to Sunderland for Saturday’s Premier League opener at the Stadium of Light. The Hammers finished a dismal 14th last season while making a mid-campaign managerial change by appointing Graham Potter.

The ex-Brighton boss has been largely unconvincing so far, but back-to-back away wins to finish the season and solid pre-season has brought some optimism to the London club. In one of their lowest moments back in the spring, striker Nicklas Fullkrug called out his teammates in an explosive post-match interview following a draw with doomed Southampton.

So it is interesting to hear how positive the German international sounds about their current state. Fullkrug, who was on the scoresheet as the Hammers finalised their preparations with a penalty shootout victory over Lille at London Stadium last weekend, praised the mentality of the group.

Black Cats are still bedding in new players

Potter’s side picked up enough points against the lower teams and proved capable of stunning those higher up, such as in away wins at Newcastle and Arsenal, but they did not fare well against the mid-table pack.

So it will be interesting to see if they can repeat the form they showed against last season’s promoted trio, when collecting 13 from a possible 18 points, versus the Black Cats. Sunderland made a superb start to their Championship campaign under Regis Le Bris and then clung on to a top-four place by playing some pragmatic football.

They have brought in a lot of new players in a bid to retain their hard-earned status, but performances and results have eluded them in their summer friendly programme. Le Bris fielded a line-up that will not be far off Sunderland’s strongest and got a 1-0 win at Augsburg last Saturday.

Bowen can start with a bang

The readiness for the Premier League of some of Sunderland’s signings remains in question and this looks like a tricky opener against an improving Hammers side. Back the visitors to take the spoils here based on their greater cutting edge at the front end.

West Ham’s strategy will be to remain patient and not over-commit against a side who will be waiting for counter-attack opportunities. Sunderland, on the other hand, will need to shore up at the back and find more cohesion going forward to challenge a confident Hammers side.

Jarrod Bowen bagged 13 Premier League goals last season, including four against the promoted clubs, and he could make the difference on Saturday.