What Do Sunderland Need To Reach A European-Level Points Total?
As the supercomputers continue to whir, what do our writers think the Lads will need in order to qualify for a place in Europe next season?
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND - MARCH 22: Regis Le Bris Manager of Sunderland on the side line during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Sunderland at St James' Park on March 22, 2026 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Ed Sykes/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images) | Getty Images Gav says… I’m going to be really boring and clichéd here, but we have to take it one game at a time. If we beat Spurs on Sunday – and, regardless of what anyone thinks or says, that would still be a huge win given the amount of quality they actually have at their disposal, and the fact that this will be their new manager’s first game in charge – then I reckon people will start believing that we can actually do it.
Winning the home game places less pressure on us going to Villa, who are not in the best of form, yet are in a pretty confident fourth position, five points clear of Liverpool. A draw would be amazing at Villa Park, but I wouldn’t be too disheartened if we lost. The mad thing is that even despite the fact they’re flying, it honestly would not shock or surprise me if we managed to get something, because we are a match for any team in this league on our day, and with so many players returning from injury, I reckon we’re in with a shout.
Then, we’ve got games against Forest and Wolves, and in the case of Forest, they’re scrapping for survival, so it won’t be easy. We’ve been better than them all season, though, but I don’t like us when we’re expected to beat a team, and that makes it tough to predict what will happen in those two games. I’d be over the moon with four points, which I reckon would have us on seven from four games – not a bad return.
After that, we’ll hopefully be in some proper scraps against other teams hoping to qualify for Europe. It feels far too early to say what will happen in those games, but I’m hoping that we can escape from Everton with a draw and then nick a win from either of our last two matches – preferably Chelsea. Imagine if we did that and qualified for Europe on the final day of the season, at home in front of our own fans?
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