Sunderland Predicted Lineup vs West Ham United

Sunderland are back!. Back in the Premier League after an eight-year absence. In that time, the Black Cats were also relegated to League One, won two playoff finals, and gave their fans a rollercoaster journey.

Despite being one of the favourites to be relegated, Sunderland have spent almost £150 million to improve their squad in the hope of not only surviving but competing with the best in the league. They face West Ham United in their first game at a sold-out Stadium of Light, and with the backing of their fans, they will be desperate to get three points at the first attempt.

Here is our Sunderland predicted lineup for their first game back in the Premier League.

Sunderland Predicted Lineup vs West Ham United on 16th August

Ins and Outs

Sunderland have been one of the busiest clubs in Europe so far this summer, spending almost £150 million on signing 11 new players. Those are:

Enzo Le Fee – Roma – £20m
Habib Diarra – Strasbourg – £30m
Arthur Masuaku – Besiktas – free
Noah Sadiki – Union Saint-Gilloise – £15m
Reinildo Mandava – Atletico Madrid – free
Chemsdine Talbi – Club Brugge – £19m
Simon Adingra – Brighton – £20.5m
Granit Xhaka – Bayer Leverkusen – £17.3m
Robin Roefs – NEC Nijmegen – £11.5m
Omar Alderete – Getafe – £10m
Marc Guiu – Chelsea – loan

Ougoings

Tom Watson – Brighton – £10m
Jobe Bellingham – Borussia Dortmund – £32m
Nathan Bishop – AFC Wimbledon – undisclosed
Adil Aouchiche – Aberdeen – loan
Matty Young – Salford – loan
Tom Lavery – Cliftonville FC – loan

Pre-Season

It was a mixed bag of results during pre-season; however, with many new players arriving and injuries to contend with, the results were not as important as integrating new players and getting players match fit. Regis Le Bris’ men ended pre-season with two wins, four defeats and a draw.

Injury News

Sunderland’s main absentees will be defender Luke O’Nien, winger Romain Mundle and left-back Dennis Cirkin. O’Nien injured his shoulder early in the play-off final and is expected to miss the first three games. Romain Mundle injured his hamstring early in pre-season and is not expected back until October. Dennis Cirkin is back in light training following surgery on his wrist and like Luke O’Nien, is expected to miss the first three games.

Regis Le Bris on Opening Game

At his press conference on Thursday, head coach Regis Le Bris spoke about the upcoming Premier League opener against West Ham. He said: “I’m excited, first of all. I’m ready to go after seven weeks of pre-season. It’s a new squad, many things to develop but the last two weeks it has stepped up. I felt the shift in mindset this week. We are ready, I think.

“We have to break this trend for promoted clubs. Last season we broke a big rule, we lost five and won the play-offs. It’s always a new story, it can’t always be about the past. We believe we can hunt every single point and we will do that.”

Sunderland Predicted Lineup

Due to several new signings not yet fully match fit, Regis Le Bris is likely to resist starting them, but they are expected to be included on the bench. With this being the case, Jenson Seelt, who has been linked with a move away, is likely to start alongside Dan Ballard in central defence. However, seven new signings are expected to start the game. These are goalkeeper Robin Roefs, leftback Rienildo, midfielders Granit Xhaka, record signing Habib Diarra, Noah Sadiki, and wingers Simon Adingra and Chemsdine Talbi. Former record signing Enzo Le Fee appears as if he will have to settle for a place on the bench.

GK Roefs
RB Hume
CB Ballard
CB Seelt
LB Rienildo
CM Xhaka
CM Diarra
CM Sadiki
LW Edingra
RW Talbi
ST Mayenda

Substitues

Patterson
Alderete
Masuaku
Le Fee
Isidor
Rigg
Roberts
Guiu
Neil

Current Odds

Sunderland 21/10
Draw 23/10
West Ham 5/4

Odds are from Sky Bet and are correct as of Thursday evening.