Sunderland join Manchester City and Arsenal with incredible stat under Régis Le Bris

Sunderland have joined Manchester City and Arsenal with a brilliant statistic under Régis Le Bris.

The Black Cats are one of only ten teams in the top four divisions of English football to remain unbeaten at home this season in the league heading into the November international break.

In League Two, no team has managed to remain undefeated at home. In League One, Birmingham City and Wrexham have achieved the impressive stat. Sunderland alongside Championship rivals Burnley, Watford and Sheffield United and Watford make the list and in the Premier League, only Manchester City and Arsenal remain undefeated at home.

To be one of ten teams from the 92 clubs across the Premier League, Championship, League One and League Two to remain undefeated is a hugely impressive feat for new coach Le Bris and to see his name alongside Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta is surely a good signing going forward if the Black Cats can keep it up after the international break.

Sunderland also lead the way in a few other metrics in the Championship during 2024-25 so far. The Black Cats are top of the table heading into the November break on goal difference, though it is worth noting second-place that Sheffield United have had two points deducted. That said, the Wearsiders are the top scorers in the second tier with 25 goals to their name already.

The Black Cats are averaging around 1.7 goals per match currently, placing them ahead of promotion rivals Leeds United (1.6) and Middlesbrough (1.5). Interestingly, Sunderland have managed to top the league and score the most goals by averaging just 46.5 per cent possession across their 15 games so far, ranking them at 18th in the league for that particular metric and below the likes of Plymouth Argyle (49.1 per cent) and Cardiff City (49.2 per cent).

In terms of defensive statistics Sunderland have the second-most clean sheets in the Championship, with Le Bris’ team producing nine shutouts so far this campaign. Leeds United and Burnley are also on nine for the season with Sheffield United leading the way with ten. The Black Cats concede on average 0.7 goals per game, which places them joint fifth alongside Swansea City. Leeds United (0.7), West Brom (0.6), Sheffield United (0.5) and Burnley (0.4) all rank ahead of Le Bris’ team currently but the margins are tight.

In terms of everyone’s favourite metric expected goals, Sunderland are outperforming their xG by a significant amount. As previously mentioned, the Black Cats have scored 25 goals this season, yet their expected goals for 2024-25 is just 18.1, this suggests that Sunderland’s finishing has been strong. Wilson Isidor’s goals against Hull City, Oxford United and Coventry City spring to mind, alongside Dennis Cirkin’s against the Sky Blues and Jobe’s against Derby County.

On that goal-scoring note, Sunderland have missed 16 big chances this season, which is about average for the division. Leeds United take the unwanted top spot for big chances missed with 27, whereas Plymouth are bottom with seven.

Perhaps most importantly, however, is that Sunderland are currently averaging two points per game, a figure which could have been higher if draws had been turned into wins against the likes of Preston North End and Coventry City. That means the Black Cats are on course for 92 points this season which usually means a team gains automatic promotion.