Sunderland’s record against promoted teams provides added inspiration ahead of Plymouth trip

Three five-goal thrashings and a 70 per cent-plus win record are among the statistics of the Black Cats’ record in the last three seasons against clubs just arrived from a division below. And while one 6-0 drubbing also appears on that record, Sunderland have scored more than twice as many goals as they have conceded against newly promoted sides since 2021-22.

In 14 such games from 2021-22 onwards, the Black Cats have feasted on divisional fresh meat, winning 10 times, and scoring an astonishing 34 goals – including three or more goals in one game a whopping six times. That 6-0 blip came, of course, at the hands of Bolton, in a defeat which cost Lee Johnson his job as Sunderland manager in January 2022.

2023/2024

So far this season Sunderland have played two newly promoted sides, bouncing back from an opening day defeat to high-flying Ipswich Town with an emphatic win over former League One play-off victims Sheffield Wednesday.

Former Sunderland player Nathan Broadhead opening the scoring for Ipswich at the Stadium of Light in August, and George Hirst doubled the Tractor Boys’ lead before Dan Neil’s late consolation goal.

It was a different story at Hillsborough in late September, as a much-improved Sunderland raced into a 2-0 lead against struggling Wednesday inside the first 10 minutes with goals from Dan Ballard and Jack Clarke.

Clarke scored his second of the game in the 31st minute to pile on the misery for the home fans in a near-26,000 crowd.

2022/2023

Sunderland enjoyed their first season back in the Championship last season by finishing in the play-off places.

They also found success against their fellow newly promoted sides Wigan Athletic and Rotherham United.

Sunderland won three of their four games against the two clubs last season, scoring 10 goals.

But the Black Cats did fall to a surprise 2-1 defeat in their visit to Rotherham, with Oliver Rathbone and Shane Ferguson giving the hosts a 2-0 advantage before Joe Gelhardt scored his first goal for Sunderland.

2021/2022

Despite generally tortuous times in League One, Sunderland at least had serious success against newly promoted sides from League Two in their final campaign at that level.

Sunderland won six of their eight games against the four teams promoted from the fourth tier that season, scoring five times in three of the six wins.

The Black Cats’ two defeats to the league’s newcomers that season came in the space of the fraught 10 days either side of Johnson’s sacking.

Hammered 6-0 by Bolton, and then losing again a week later to Doncaster, Sunderland went down 2-1 to League One debut boys Cheltenham Town in a slump which made the subsequent march to promotion play-off glory all the sweeter.