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Sunderland stunned everyone last season and now Regis Le Bris' team have the chance to show they belong in the Premier League for the long term, rather than merely fighting to stay up.

GET CREATIVE. Excluding Burnley and Wolves, Sunderland recorded the fewest shots, with 396, and the lowest xG, at 38.89, of any Premier League club last season.

After the remarkable achievements of Regis Le Bris' spirited side over the last year, Sunderland head into this campaign in a completely different position from where they were 12 months ago.

Before 2025-26, the expectation almost everywhere was that an inexperienced Black Cats side would be drawn into a relegation battle after winning promotion through the Championship play-offs.

Instead, they delivered one of the stories of the season by finishing seventh and securing immediate qualification for the Europa League.

Le Bris successfully combined the core of the squad that earned promotion with a number of ambitious additions, among them Nordi Mukiele from PSG and Brian Brobbey from Ajax.

Granit Xhaka was arguably the signing of the Premier League season, arriving 12 months after an almost flawless campaign with Bayer Leverkusen and bringing leadership and calm to the newly promoted club. Two other key arrivals, Noah Sadiki and Omar Alderete, may have attracted less attention but were every bit as impressive.

The Stadium of Light quickly turned into one of the toughest away grounds in the division. Sunderland also enjoyed success on the road, beating Chelsea, Everton and, most satisfyingly of all, local rivals Newcastle. Now comes the harder challenge. Sunderland are no longer an unexpected package.

The squad must now juggle domestic responsibilities with Thursday nights in Europe. That kind of schedule has previously caused ambitious clubs to falter. Supporters will understandably relish every trip, but the club must remain grounded.

Sunderland's decision to appoint Regis Le Bris in June 2024 initially looked unusual, considering he had just suffered relegation from Ligue 1 with Lorient. It proved inspired: the former defender put his faith in youth to guide the Black Cats back to the top flight and then on to even bigger achievements.

Enzo Le Fee's arrival in January 2025 drew attention immediately – only six months after joining Roma for around £20m, he was moving on loan to the Championship. The midfielder rapidly helped Sunderland win promotion, then made the move permanent and impressed once again in the top division.

PREMIER LEAGUE: 7th

FA CUP: Fifth Round

LEAGUE CUP: Second Round

Brian Brobbey scored seven goals in all competitions for Sunderland last season.

All seven of those goals came in the Premier League, and he also contributed one assist in 31 appearances.

The youngsters have more than held their own. Sunderland had the youngest average starting XI during their promotion season, and then the second youngest in the Premier League, behind only Chelsea.

That did not stop them from shining, and Le Bris deserves enormous credit for trusting young players with meaningful opportunities. Robin Roefs, Chemsdine Talbi, Chris Rigg, Habib Diarra and Eliezer Mayenda all enjoyed regular minutes while still under the age of 23. Very rarely did they seem out of place.

Finish above Newcastle in the Tyne-Wear derby battle. For all the achievements of last season, doing the double over Newcastle was the most satisfying of the lot. Brobbey's late winner at St James' Park in March to complete it is a moment travelling fans will never forget – and will never allow their rivals to forget either.

Take note of the doubters. Very few neutrals expected Sunderland even to stay up, let alone claim a top-seven finish. They became only the fifth newly promoted side to qualify for Europe through league position.

Last season was a fairy tale. We were supposed to disappear straight back down, not end up in Europe for the first time in 53 years. There is a real buzz around the place – the city is flying and you can sense it.

This season will be different because last season was almost a free hit – now we have set the standard absurdly high.

The big talking point is whether we are ready for the Thursday-Sunday routine. Just a reminder: 12 months ago, we were told we “weren't prepared for the Premier League”.

Our key player will be Enzo Le Fee. With his goals, assists and work rate, he is probably the most gifted footballer I have ever seen play in red and white. I am enjoying watching him while I still can.

Look out for 21-year-old midfielder Noah Sadiki, who joined us last year. The reason we are going back to the Moon is to find some ground he has not covered yet.

The opposition player who grinds my gears is Joelinton. He is the softest hard man you will ever see on a football pitch.

Fans think our owner is the best thing to happen to our club in decades.

The one change I'd make at our club is to expand the Stadium of Light. We fill it every week – people cannot get season tickets – so the time has come to push capacity beyond 50,000.

I won't be happy unless we reach the Europa League knockout stage. I would accept a weaker league season if it meant making the most of this opportunity.

We'll finish 12th, after a run to the Europa League final. Dare to dream, eh?

AUGUST

22 Ipswich (A)

29 Fulham (H)

SEPTEMBER

5 Brentford (A)

12 Arsenal (H)

19 Man City (A)

OCTOBER

10 Brighton (H)

17 Bournemouth (A)

24 Leeds (H)

31 Coventry (A)

NOVEMBER

7 Chelsea (H)

21 Aston Villa (A)

28 Tottenham (H)

DECEMBER

2 Liverpool (A)

5 Newcastle (A)

12 Nott'm Forest (H)

19 Crystal Palace (H)

26 Everton (A)

30 Man United (A)

JANUARY

2 Hull City (H)

6 Liverpool (H)

16 Chelsea (A)

23 Coventry (H)

30 Tottenham (A)

FEBRUARY

6 Aston Villa (H)

10 Hull City (A)

20 Everton (H)

27 Crystal Palace (A)

MARCH

3 Man United (H)

13 Brentford (H)

20 Arsenal (A)

APRIL

10 Ipswich (H)

17 Fulham (A)

24 Nott'm Forest (A)

MAY

1 Newcastle (H)

8 Brighton (A)

15 Bournemouth (H)

23 Leeds (A)

30 Man City (H)

Sunderland to win the Premier League title odds: 500/1

FourFourTwo verdict: Sunderland to finish 17th.

The jump from 12th to 7th across the final two games was the reward for brave recruitment, even if the xG table – apologies – placed them 18th. Still, enjoy Europe and trust that this squad has enough quality – if not quite enough depth – to stay up.

This feature was written in June as part of FourFourTwo magazine's legendary Season Preview issue.