Sunderland kick off their first Premier League season since the 2016/17 season with a visit from Graham Potter’s West Ham side, who have only won five of Potter’s 19 games in charge of the Hammers. 

Sunderland have shown plenty of ambition in the transfer window with signings such as Granit Xhaka, Simon Adingra, and Marc Guiu adding to the talent that Sunderland already have within their ranks. 

West Ham did show some signs of improvement during the PL Summer Series pre-season tournament in registering wins over Bournemouth and Everton, but a trip to the Stadium of Light is an awkward task for the East London side.

Sunderland lost just four of their 23 home games in the Championship last season - only Bristol City, Burnley, and Leeds lost fewer games at home than the Black Cats last season. Regis Le Bris has shown that he isn’t afraid to adapt his style to ensure that Sunderland stay competitive. He went with a counter-attacking approach in the playoff campaign, which was very effective, and he could look to build something similar this season.

West Ham only managed to win six of their 19 away games in the Premier League last season, losing eight of these matches and conceding 28 goals in the process. There aren’t likely to be many moments of the season where Sunderland have momentum behind them, so it is essential that they look to get off to a positive start here, and can increase the pressure on Graham Potter with a positive result in this opening game. 

Wolves scored in this fixture against Manchester City last season through Jorgen Strand Larsen and could be perfectly set up to make the most of the issues that Manchester City are still facing in stopping fast breaks.

Wolves improved massively under Vitor Pereira last season, following the sacking of Gary O’Neil, who had started the season. Wolves netted 27 goals across their 19 home games last season (1.42 per game), which was more than the likes of Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, and Manchester United last campaign, which would suggest that Wolves are quite a dangerous side going forward.

Although they’ve lost Matheus Cunha to Manchester United, the signing of Jhon Arias for Fluminense ensures that Wolves will still offer a potent threat on the counterattack this season. Arias is perfectly suited to exposing the gaps in Manchester City’s backline and midfield, which have been appearing since the start of last season.

Manchester City conceded 21 goals across their 19 away games last season (1.10 per game), a marginal increase on the number of goals they conceded on the road the season prior. Wolves have managed to find the back of the net against Manchester City in three of the last five head-to-head meetings between the sides.