Sunderland are set to kickstart the 2024/25 campaign with a trip to Cardiff City.
Sunderland’s fixture list was announced this morning, with Regis Le Bris set for a mixed bag of matches as he looks to enjoy a bright start to life on Wearside.
Following their trip to Wales, the Black Cats will face Sheffield Wednesday, Burnley, Portsmouth, Plymouth and Middlesbrough.
Given Le Bris’ lack of experience, it is incredibly hard to predict just how his first season in England will go.
However, amongst wins and positive football, Sunderland desperately need to gain some consistency.
Particularly in League One, Sunderland have often gone through a rough patch in the second half of the season that sees their chances of promotion or reaching the play-offs dip slightly.
Le Bris will have to keep his players at the highest level possible for nine months, whilst also competing in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup too.
Sunderland set for a challenging February
One month in particular stands out as a huge obstacle for the Black Cats, with February likely to throw up some concern for supporters.
Following an interesting start to 2025 that will see them take on two relegated clubs and two promoted clubs, Sunderland’s end to the campaign could come down to whether they can do themselves proud in February.
Sunderland begin the month with an away trip to Middlesbrough, which comes almost exactly a year after Nazariy Rusyn rescued a point in the Tees-Wear derby.
Sunderland have won only one of their last ten meetings with Boro and a comfortable win there could really set them up for some decent form.
They then host Watford, which is hard to predict given how up-and-down the Hornets can be. However, they will be battling for promotion and wouldn’t be a particularly surprising defeat for the hosts.
Next up is Luton, who are likely to be right up there next season. The Hatters have kept hold of Rob Edwards and will be eager to keep the likes of Alfie Doughty and Tahith Chong in the Championship.
Sunderland then travel to Leeds United, and while they claimed four points from them last term, they are surely set to take it up another level in a desperate bid for Premier League football.
Finally, Sunderland will host Hull City at the Stadium of Light. The Tigers narrowly missed out on the play-offs last season and arguably have one of the best squads in the second tier.
It could go one of two ways for the Black Cats
February could well be a month where Sunderland manage only a handful of points, but if they can stay consistent then they could even scrape wins against the likes of Boro, Luton and Leeds.
Sunderland will then have played a large chunk of the biggest teams by March, and if they can pick up some vital points in February, then they could earn themselves a very solid path through to the play-offs.
However, crumble and it wouldn’t be surprising to see them drop points left right and centre.