Everton vs Sunderland: Opposition Analysis | Blues Seek To End Home Campaign on a High

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - JANUARY 10: Enzo Le Fee of Sunderland scores his team's first goal during the Emirates FA Cup Third Round match between Everton and Sunderland at Hill Dickinson Stadium on January 10, 2026 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Jess Hornby/Getty Images) | Getty Images Following last week’s disappointing draw against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, on Sunday afternoon local time, Everton will round off a first year at the state-of-the-art Hill Dickinson Stadium. Whilst the club has posted a mediocre six wins and five draws on home turf heading into tomorrow’s match, the move to a new ground can’t really be blamed, as the team’s record at Goodison Park going back quite a few years was hardly intimidating to the opposition.

A five game winless run has robbed the Blues of much momentum heading into the closing weeks of the campaign, but – improbably – European qualification is still, somehow, not out of reach. It’s been an unusual season, with the extension of continental spots extending way into midtable giving hopes of visits to foreign climes to a lot of clubs. Arriving for a second visit of the year to HDS – after knocking the Toffees out of the FA Cup via penalty shootout in January – are Sunderland , trailing one point behind in the table, and one of many sides still in with a shout at Europe.

Form Régis Le Bris has enjoyed quite the impact in a relatively short time at the North East club, steering them up from the Championship at the first time of asking last term through the playoffs, and then on to an unprecedentedly successful first year back in the top flight, after eight years spent in the second and even third tier of English football. The club’s owners have aided him heavily in ensuring that Sunderland would avoid the fate of the previous six promotees, who all went straight back down, typically with a whimper. Shockingly youthful majority owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus (age: 28!

) funded a well-directed spending spree in support of the manager, investing €188. 7m on 15 additions — offset somewhat by €51m generated from the sales of Jobe Bellingham and promotion final hero Tom Watson. The Black Cats got the campaign off to a perfect start, brushing aside a poor West Ham side 3-0 at the Stadium of Light (foreshadowing the Londoners’ struggles).