Sunderland vs Arsenal Prediction, Predicted Lineups & Team News | Premier League

Sunderland host Arsenal at the Stadium of Light on Saturday evening, three days after Arsenal won 1-0 in Naples. Our Sunderland vs Arsenal prediction favors the visitors, who have won all three league games and are expected to restore most of the side rested in midweek.

Granit Xhaka captains Sunderland against the club he spent seven years with. Regis Le Bris made 11 changes in Tuesday's cup win over Hull, so his first-choice side arrives fresh while Arsenal return from a midweek trip to Italy.

When & Where to Watch (USA)

Saturday, Sept. 12 at 8:00 PM BST / 3:00 PM ET / 12:00 PM PT

Venue: Stadium of Light, Sunderland (capacity 48,095)

• English TV: USA Network
• Spanish TV: Telemundo
• Streaming: Fubo, Sling Blue, Hulu + Live TV, DirecTV Stream

Sunderland vs Arsenal Lineups & Injury News

Sunderland vs Arsenal Predicted Lineups

Predicted lineups: Sunderland are projected in a 4-2-3-1, which would be a change from the back five Le Bris used at Brentford, and it is a defensive-minded version of the shape: Nordi Mukiele at right back with Thomas Meunier, another right back, ahead of him on the same side. Arsenal are projected to restore the side that beat Chelsea, with Myles Lewis-Skelly alongside Declan Rice and Ezri Konsa continuing at center back.

RotoWire's Premier League predicted lineups are updated throughout the week, with confirmed starting XIs added closer to kickoff.

Sunderland predicted starting XI (4-2-3-1): Robin Roefs; Nordi Mukiele, Dan Ballard, Kevin Danso, Reinildo Mandava; Granit Xhaka, Noah Sadiki; Thomas Meunier, Enzo Le Fee, Nilson Angulo; Brian Brobbey

Arsenal predicted starting XI (4-2-3-1): David Raya; Ben White, Ezri Konsa, Gabriel, Riccardo Calafiori; Declan Rice, Myles Lewis-Skelly; Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Christos Tzolis; Kai Havertz

For the latest availability updates across the league, see RotoWire's Premier League injury report.

Sunderland Team News & Injuries

Habib Diarra is the absence that shapes the midfield. The hamstring injury he picked up against Fulham has him out until after the international break by Le Bris' own account, which leaves Xhaka and Noah Sadiki as the pivot and Enzo Le Fee as the only creator ahead of them. It also matters for set pieces, because Diarra was the other name on penalties.

Romaine Mundle is out for considerably longer. He has had meniscus surgery and Le Bris is hoping to have him back by the end of the year rather than in the autumn. Juan Riquelme Angulo, signed on deadline day, is still waiting on a visa.

The selection question is Malick Fofana, and Arsenal know why. Sunderland beat them to the 21-year-old winger on deadline day for around 30 million pounds, and he has yet to start a Premier League game, coming off the bench at Brentford before starting the cup tie against Hull. He is fit and pushing.

Everything else is a choice. Kevin Danso, on loan from Tottenham, is projected alongside Dan Ballard rather than Mukiele partnering him, which pushes Mukiele to right back. Trai Hume, who started at right back against Fulham, is out of the projection altogether.

Arsenal Team News & Injuries

William Saliba remains out with the back problem he aggravated at the World Cup, and Mikel Arteta has not put a date on it. The other two are closer than they were. Cristhian Mosquera missed the Napoli trip with his hamstring problem but Arteta had him in contention on Friday: "He's doing really well. Let's see if he can get back for this game or the next one." Jurrien Timber is in the same bracket after a few days back with the group: "Let's see. We have another training session. He's been doing really well, and he looks in good shape." Ben White, who is projected at right back, is fine by Arteta's own one-word verdict.

Bruno Guimaraes is the live one. He is fit but was not risked from the start against Chelsea after what Arteta called "quite a severe pain" following the Villa game, Lewis-Skelly started instead, and the projection has Lewis-Skelly keeping the job.

The rest is rotation, and the direction of it is what matters here. Arsenal changed heavily for Napoli and won 1-0 anyway through an Odegaard goal from a Christos Tzolis assist, with Raya making three saves for the clean sheet. The projected XI brings back Saka, Havertz and Calafiori for a Saturday evening kickoff that exists in this slot precisely because Arsenal played in Italy on Wednesday.

Sunderland vs Arsenal Head-to-Head Record

These clubs have met 156 times, with Arsenal winning 64 to Sunderland's 50 and 42 drawn. The modern run is entirely one-way. Arsenal have not lost a competitive meeting with Sunderland since 2012, a stretch now beyond a dozen games, and the most recent of them was a 3-0 win at the Emirates in February.

Sunderland's last league win over Arsenal was in November 2009, a 1-0 at the Stadium of Light through a Darren Bent goal, which is coming up on 17 years ago. Their last competitive win over them in any competition was an FA Cup fifth-round tie in 2011-12.

The encouraging note for the home side is the most recent visit. Arsenal came here in November 2025 and drew 2-2.

Sunderland vs Arsenal Tactical Analysis

Look at where Sunderland's projected personnel actually are. Mukiele is a center back playing right back, Meunier is a right back playing in front of him, and Reinildo is a left back with Nilson Angulo ahead of him. That is a 4-2-3-1 on the team sheet and something closer to a five-man defensive block in practice, which is consistent with Le Bris going to a back five at Brentford and with a manager whose stated first principle is that the goalkeeper, center backs and defensive midfielders have to work as one unit before anything else happens.

So Arsenal have a choice to make about where to attack, and the two options look very different.

The central route runs through the pocket in front of Xhaka and Sadiki, and it is the one Arsenal have been using. Odegaard created six chances at Napoli and scored the winner, and he scored the winner against Chelsea as well. Xhaka and Sadiki are specifically there to deny him that space, and Xhaka in particular reads the game well enough to shuffle across and take it away without needing to tackle.

The wide route is Saka against Reinildo, and that is more likely to be available than the central one. If Angulo does not recover consistently on Sunderland's left, Reinildo risks being isolated against Saka while Ballard is forced to slide across. Le Bris will likely accept Arsenal having possession in those areas as long as Sunderland can keep bodies in the box and turn crosses into low-value chances.

Sunderland's problem is at the other end, and it is stark. Their three league goals have come from a direct free kick, a penalty and a substitute, and not one of them from open play with a starting forward on the pitch. Brian Brobbey has started Sunderland's last two league games without scoring. Against a back four that has conceded once all season, that is a side that needs a set piece.

Sunderland vs Arsenal Odds

Arsenal are heavy road favorites from -205 to -240 and Sunderland are out at +600 to +650, the longest home price of the weekend. The draw at around +320 is closer to Arsenal than to Sunderland, which is the market saying the realistic upset here is a goalless grind rather than a home win, and the 35-cent spread on Arsenal between DraftKings and FanDuel is the widest on the board.

Odds from OddsJam. For more markets across the weekend, see RotoWire's soccer betting page and the best sportsbook promos.

Sunderland vs Arsenal Key Matchups

Bukayo Saka vs Reinildo Mandava

The wide route named above, and the individual duel that decides whether it is worth taking. Reinildo is a physical, front-footed left back who will engage Saka rather than drop off him, which is the right approach against a winger who wants a defender backing away. However, every time Sunderland's right-sided attacker is caught upfield, Reinildo is alone against Saka with Ballard having to slide over. Arsenal will look for that moment early and repeatedly, and Saka took three corners and had four shots against Chelsea, so he does not need many.

Granit Xhaka vs Martin Odegaard

Two captains and one small piece of grass. Xhaka spent seven years at Arsenal and knows exactly what Odegaard is trying to do, which is why Le Bris built the pivot around him and calls him a second coach on the pitch. Odegaard has scored in both of Arsenal's last two games and created six chances in Naples, and he does his damage receiving between the lines with his back to nobody. The specific question is whether Xhaka can screen that zone without stepping so far forward that Havertz gets to run at Ballard. Xhaka is the reason Sunderland's midfield holds its shape at all, but he turns 34 this month and Arsenal have a bench.

Sunderland vs Arsenal Set-Piece Takers

Set-piece responsibility for both clubs comes from RotoWire's Premier League set-piece takers guide, which covers all 20 teams for 2026-27.

Sunderland

• Corners & free kicks: Granit Xhaka, Enzo Le Fee, Nilson Angulo, Trai Hume
• Penalties: Enzo Le Fee

Arsenal

• Corners & free kicks: Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Christos Tzolis, Martin Odegaard
• Penalties: Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard

This is the section that could decide the game. Le Fee is effectively Sunderland's sole penalty taker with Diarra injured, and he converted the one they got at Brentford. Angulo has the only direct free-kick goal either side has scored this season, from 25 yards at Ipswich. Hume is on both Sunderland lists and is not in the projected XI, which thins the delivery further. For Arsenal, Rice took two corners against Chelsea and Saka three.

Sunderland vs Arsenal Prediction

Arsenal are the better team by a wide margin and they have the more settled back line, having conceded once in three league games while playing without Saliba throughout. Sunderland have scored three league goals and none of them came from a starting forward in open play, which is not the profile of a side that beats this defense twice.

The case against a comfortable Arsenal win is real, though, and it is about legs rather than quality. Arsenal were in Naples on Wednesday and this is their second of three games in six days. Sunderland changed eleven players in the cup and have not played a league game since Saturday.

So I expect an uncomfortable evening rather than a close one. Arsenal won at Villa Park by keeping a clean sheet and taking one chance, and the Stadium of Light on a Saturday night is where that same performance looks like a grind rather than a statement.

Score Prediction: Sunderland 0-1 Arsenal

Sunderland and Arsenal Upcoming Fixtures

Sunderland open their Europa League campaign at home to AZ Alkmaar on Sept. 16, their first European tie in 53 years, while Arsenal host Ipswich in the EFL Cup.

For the rest of the matchweek, see RotoWire's Premier League predicted lineups, injury report and team stats.