IN FOCUS: SUNDERLAND (2022)

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With the new Sky Bet Championship season now approaching, we bring you the lowdown on all 23 of our league opponents

2022-07-22T08:00:00.000Z

IN FOCUS: SUNDERLAND (2022)

With the new Sky Bet Championship season now approaching, we bring you the lowdown on all 23 of our league opponents

2022-07-22T08:00:00.000Z

With the new Sky Bet Championship season now approaching, we bring you the lowdown on all 23 of our league opponents

Known originally for a year as ‘Sunderland and District Teachers’, the Black Cats were established in 1879, joining the Football League in 1890.

They picked up the first of six top-flight titles to date in 1892 and, a historically successful club, have also won the FA Cup twice – most recently in 1973. Sunderland have also held the FA Charity Shield on one occasion as well as appearing in two League Cup finals.

Over the course of the club’s history, there have been 35 seasons spent outside of the top flight and only five of those spent below the second tier. Four of those five came in the last four seasons, spending that period in League One after back-to-back relegations from both the Premier League and Championship.

The Black Cats finally managed to get themselves promoted from the third-tier last term, third time lucky in the play-offs having been beaten semi-finalists & finalists in recent years.

Stadium: Stadium of Light (49,000) – Monkwearmouth, Sunderland, SR5 1SU

Nickname(s): The Black Cats

Manager: Alex Neil

2021/22 Finishing Position: 5th in League One (Promoted via the Play-Offs)

2021/22 Top Scorer: Ross Stewart (24)

Notable Connections: Plenty of players have featured for both the Clarets and Sunderland over the years, with Phil Bardsley – who departed Turf Moor in the summer of 2022 – one of the most recent examples.

The full back spent six years in the North East and made 200 appearances before moving on to Stoke City and eventually Burnley. He played 71 times for the Clarets, including four appearances in the UEFA Europa League.

Elsewhere, former winger Leighton James played 52 times for the Black Cats in between three separate spells as a Claret which saw him rack up 336 appearances. He scored 66 times in a Burnley shirt.

Ex-Clarets manager Stan Ternent – who made five appearances at Turf Moor during his career – also spent time with Sunderland in his playing days. The midfielder didn’t make a league appearance during his time in the North East, however.

Last Time We Met: Though Sunderland were relegated from the Premier League in 2016/17, the two clubs have come toe-to-toe since.

The Black Cats – then managed by Jack Ross – made the trip to Turf Moor in the second round of the League Cup in August 2019.

Jay Rodriguez had put the Clarets ahead in the first half, but three goals for the visitors turned things around and saw Sunderland progress. They would eventually be knocked out on penalties by Oxford United in the fourth round.

Full Record (All Competitions): P: 117 - W: 38, D: 32, L: 47

Fixtures in the 2022/23 season: 01.04.23 (H – Turf Moor) / 22.10.22 (A – Stadium of Light)