Sunderland's new predicted final Premier League finish ahead of Brighton and Newcastle clashes
Where are Sunderland predicted to finish in this season's Premier League table?
Sunderland have just nine games remaining in their first season back in the Premier League and there are still high hopes a push for European football is on the agenda.
A first landmark of the season was reached in midweek as a penalty from summer signing Habib Diarra helped the Black Cats claim a 1-0 win at former Championship promotion rivals Leeds United and helped Regis Le Bris’ men reach 40 points and preserve their top flight status. A tough looking schedule lies in wait as Sunderland now prepare for a home clash with Brighton and Hove Albion next Saturday before all focus turns towards their attempts to complete a league double over Newcastle United in the Tyne-Wear derby at St James Park eight days later.
As it stands, the Black Cats are sitting in eleventh place in the table and they are just four points adrift of seventh placed Brentford - but how realistic is a push for European football and where could Sunderland finish when the season comes to a close in May?
We take a look at the latest predicted final Premier League table after a recent update from the stats experts at Opta.
Where are Sunderland predicted to finish in this season’s Premier League?
1st: Arsenal - 81.73 points
2nd: Manchester City - 77.24 points
3rd: Aston Villa - 67.08 points
4th: Liverpool - 65.52 points
5th: Manchester United - 64.48 points
6th: Chelsea - 61.23 points
7th: Brentford - 57.36 points
8th: Bournemouth - 52.60 points
9th: Everton - 52.55 points
10th: Fulham - 51.70 points
11th: Newcastle United - 50.49 points
12th: Brighton and Hove Albion - 49.95 points
13th: Sunderland - 48.08 points
14th: Crystal Palace - 47.61 points
15th: Leeds United - 44.13 points
16th: Tottenham Hotspur - 43.30 points
17th: Nottingham Forest - 39.35 points
18th: West Ham United - 35.20 points
19th: Burnley - 27.83 points
20th: Wolverhampton Wanderers - 22.10 points
What have Sunderland said about reaching 40 points and securing Premier League safety?
Speaking after the win at Leeds, Black Cats non-executive director Leo Pearlman said: “40 points, survival secured, but this story is only just getting started. For 34 years of the Premier League, that number has carried a mythology. Reach it and you’re safe, reach it and you’ve earned the right to belong. Last night, Sunderland AFC reached 40 points and we did it in a way that felt fitting.
“Away at Leeds United, a proper football club with proper fans and a rivalry stretching back decades. Last season Leeds finished 24 pts ahead of us, which made the moment last night feel all the sweeter and if you were inside Elland Road, you could feel it. The wall of red and white behind the goal, thousands of Sunderland supporters carrying with them the same belief that has followed this club through generations. It wasn’t pretty, but it was necessary and throughout the night, the same force that has powered Sunderland all season was unmistakable. Unity. Between the players on the pitch, the fans in the stands, between the club and the community it represents.”