ShareSpurs continue their battle to avoid sliding into the Championship with a long journey north to play a Sunderland team who are still playing for a place in Europe next season.By Ian KingIt’s been a busy three weeks off for crisis club SpursA combination of the international break and the FA Cup mean that it’s been three weeks since Spurs capitulated at home to Nottingham Forest, but that’s not to say that the club haven’t been busy in the meantime. Igor Tudor has now departed the head coach’s position and, in true Tottenham Hotspur style, have gone for a replacement who may prove divisive among the club’s fans in the form of Roberto De Zerbi. A long trip north to Sunderland is probably the last thing that De Zerbi will have wanted. The Black Cats have been one of the surprise packages of the Premier League season, and although they’re down in 11th place in the table, they come into the match off the high of having beaten Newcastle United away from home in their last league match, while they’re still chasing a place in Europe for next season. Sunderland haven’t beaten Spurs in a competitive match in 16 yearsIt’s been 16 years since Sunderland last beat Spurs in a competitive match, with that win coming by three goals to one at The Stadium of Light in April 2010. When the two clubs met earlier in the season at The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium they drew 1-1, and curiously this was also the score between the two teams when they met at White Hart Lane during Spurs’ last relegation season, 1976/77. For those looking for omens for this weekend’s match, Sunderland won the return match at Roker Park 2-1.Archie Gray has been one of the few Spurs players to emerge from this season with much creditFew Spurs players have impressed this season, but one of those who has is midfielder Archie Gray, who’s played in several different positions over the course of this season but who is, at heart, a defensive midfielder. Gray has shown notable maturity under difficult circumstances this season, and he would be a big loss, should he decide that his development as a player would be served better elsewhere during the summer.The £20 million that Sunderland paid Roma for the 21-year-old midfielder Enzo Le Fée is already starting to look like a bargain. Le Fée has been a consistent performer for the Black Cats in recent weeks, and he’s also their second-highest goalscorer behind Brian Brobbey in all competitions, with five, while he’s also contributed four assists in the Premier League.Kudus setback is the latest in a long line of Spurs injuriesThe latest in the epic saga that Spurs’ injury woes throughout the 2025/26 season has become is the news that Mohammed Kudus has not, as had been hoped, recovered from his injury and has now had a setback which may keep him out for the remainder of this season. He joins Wilson Odobert, Destiny Udogie, Lucas Bergvall, Rodrigo Bentancur, Ben Davies, James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski in their very congested treatment room. Sunderland could welcome back Robin Roefs and Dan Ballard from thigh injuries, though both remain doubtful for this match. Jocelin Ta Bi, Romaine Mundle, Bertrand Traore and Nilson Angulo remain longer-term absentees. Spurs need strength of character from their team for a tough trip northReports from the training ground at Spurs have been that there’s been a positive reaction to the arrival of the new head coach, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s going to be the quick success that the club needs if they’re to retain their Premier League status. And given his previous comments while at Marseille, his appointment has already been a deeply divisive one which has upset many supporters. There is no manager that would get a great deal of patience at the moment, but the decision that the senior management of the club have made may get less than most. And the Brighton captain Lewis Dunk told the Telegraph in 2023 that De Zerbi’s early meetings with players were “baffling” and that his first fortnight at the Amex were “a carnage two weeks.” Sunderland have had an excellent season, They were pre-season favourites to go down, but Régis Le Bris has done a superb job of keeping his team organised and picking enough points for relegation not to have been a major concern for the team all season. With seven games to play, they’re three points off a place in next season’s Europa Conference League, and five off a Europa League position. That’s quite an incentive to keep going until the end of the season. Time is running out for Spurs to save their season, and with West Ham winning on Friday night, they will be sitting in the bottom three when they kick off at The Stadium of Light. The problem is that matches like this are a test of character, and they’ve shown precious little of that, this season. I’m going to say a 2-0 win for Sunderland, and any new manager bounce to be so slight as to be unnoticeable. (Cover image from IMAGO)You can follow every game in the Premier League with FotMob this season – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.Spurs continue their battle to avoid sliding into the Championship with a long journey north to play a Sunderland team who are still playing for a place in Europe next season.By Ian KingIt’s been a busy three weeks off for crisis club SpursA combination of the international break and the FA Cup mean that it’s been three weeks since Spurs capitulated at home to Nottingham Forest, but that’s not to say that the club haven’t been busy in the meantime. Igor Tudor has now departed the head coach’s position and, in true Tottenham Hotspur style, have gone for a replacement who may prove divisive among the club’s fans in the form of Roberto De Zerbi. A long trip north to Sunderland is probably the last thing that De Zerbi will have wanted. The Black Cats have been one of the surprise packages of the Premier League season, and although they’re down in 11th place in the table, they come into the match off the high of having beaten Newcastle United away from home in their last league match, while they’re still chasing a place in Europe for next season. Sunderland haven’t beaten Spurs in a competitive match in 16 yearsIt’s been 16 years since Sunderland last beat Spurs in a competitive match, with that win coming by three goals to one at The Stadium of Light in April 2010. When the two clubs met earlier in the season at The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium they drew 1-1, and curiously this was also the score between the two teams when they met at White Hart Lane during Spurs’ last relegation season, 1976/77. For those looking for omens for this weekend’s match, Sunderland won the return match at Roker Park 2-1.Archie Gray has been one of the few Spurs players to emerge from this season with much creditFew Spurs players have impressed this season, but one of those who has is midfielder Archie Gray, who’s played in several different positions over the course of this season but who is, at heart, a defensive midfielder. Gray has shown notable maturity under difficult circumstances this season, and he would be a big loss, should he decide that his development as a player would be served better elsewhere during the summer.The £20 million that Sunderland paid Roma for the 21-year-old midfielder Enzo Le Fée is already starting to look like a bargain. Le Fée has been a consistent performer for the Black Cats in recent weeks, and he’s also their second-highest goalscorer behind Brian Brobbey in all competitions, with five, while he’s also contributed four assists in the Premier League.Kudus setback is the latest in a long line of Spurs injuriesThe latest in the epic saga that Spurs’ injury woes throughout the 2025/26 season has become is the news that Mohammed Kudus has not, as had been hoped, recovered from his injury and has now had a setback which may keep him out for the remainder of this season. He joins Wilson Odobert, Destiny Udogie, Lucas Bergvall, Rodrigo Bentancur, Ben Davies, James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski in their very congested treatment room. Sunderland could welcome back Robin Roefs and Dan Ballard from thigh injuries, though both remain doubtful for this match. Jocelin Ta Bi, Romaine Mundle, Bertrand Traore and Nilson Angulo remain longer-term absentees. Spurs need strength of character from their team for a tough trip northReports from the training ground at Spurs have been that there’s been a positive reaction to the arrival of the new head coach, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s going to be the quick success that the club needs if they’re to retain their Premier League status. And given his previous comments while at Marseille, his appointment has already been a deeply divisive one which has upset many supporters. There is no manager that would get a great deal of patience at the moment, but the decision that the senior management of the club have made may get less than most. And the Brighton captain Lewis Dunk told the Telegraph in 2023 that De Zerbi’s early meetings with players were “baffling” and that his first fortnight at the Amex were “a carnage two weeks.” Sunderland have had an excellent season, They were pre-season favourites to go down, but Régis Le Bris has done a superb job of keeping his team organised and picking enough points for relegation not to have been a major concern for the team all season. With seven games to play, they’re three points off a place in next season’s Europa Conference League, and five off a Europa League position. That’s quite an incentive to keep going until the end of the season. Time is running out for Spurs to save their season, and with West Ham winning on Friday night, they will be sitting in the bottom three when they kick off at The Stadium of Light. The problem is that matches like this are a test of character, and they’ve shown precious little of that, this season. I’m going to say a 2-0 win for Sunderland, and any new manager bounce to be so slight as to be unnoticeable. (Cover image from IMAGO)You can follow every game in the Premier League with FotMob this season – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.