Liverpool vs Sunderland Prediction

How both sides have been getting on

Liverpool's recent sample spans the league, the Champions League and the League Cup, and it's a mixed bag. There have been eye-catching wins, including a thumping 6-3 scoreline away at Lask Linz, but also home defeats to Arsenal and Manchester City that show they're not bulletproof at Anfield.

Liverpool: 20 completed matches; Sunderland: 20 completed matches.

Liverpool

20 matches

Win

50% 10 / 20

Draw

25% 5 / 20

Loss

25% 5 / 20

Scored

38

Conceded

30

Difference

+8

Sunderland

20 matches

Win

45% 9 / 20

Draw

15% 3 / 20

Loss

40% 8 / 20

Scored

27

Conceded

28

Difference

-1

Sunderland's form across competitions has been shakier. They've picked up a couple of positive results in the Europa League and League Cup, including a win at Torreense and a home win over AZ Alkmaar, but their Premier League form in this sample leans heavily towards defeats, including a 5-3 reverse away at Manchester City.

Liverpool's home form has had the odd dip, which keeps a small door open for Sunderland.

Comparative Team Statistics: Liverpool vs Sunderland

A history that's tighter than you might expect

Recent meetings between these two haven't been one-sided. Liverpool won 1-0 away at Sunderland back in February, but the December 2025 meeting at Anfield finished 1-1. The preseason friendly in July went 4-2 to Liverpool, so even that wasn't a landslide.

Further back, there's a long run of competitive, often tight results between the clubs, though most of those predate the current squads and shouldn't be read as a guide to current form.

Recent head-to-head results have been closer than the current league gap suggests.

The table tells its own story

Liverpool sit fifth after eight league games, with four wins and just one defeat so far. Sunderland are down in twentieth after nine games, with only one win and six losses, and they've shipped seventeen goals in that time against seven scored.

That's a significant gap in points and goal difference, and it lines up with the pattern we've seen in their recent matches generally.

Players to watch

Alexander Isak has been in sharp scoring form for Liverpool, with four goals in his last five appearances, and Cody Gakpo has chipped in three assists in the same span, so the creative and goalscoring side of their game looks healthy.

Liverpool:

Best scorers:

A. Isak - 4

Best assist providers:

C. Gakpo - 3

Penalty cards:

M. Kerkez x 2

Sunderland:

Best scorers:

B. Brobbey - 3

Penalty cards:

Reinildo x 1 x 1

For Sunderland, Brian Brobbey has been their main source of goals with three in his last five games, which is notable given how little the team has scored overall. Milos Kerkez has picked up a couple of yellow cards recently for Liverpool, a small discipline note rather than anything more significant.

Weighing it all up

Liverpool go into this with a clear standings advantage and a sharper recent scoring threat through Isak and Gakpo. Sunderland's form has been inconsistent across competitions, and their defensive numbers in the league sample are a real concern.

That said, the head-to-head record shows Sunderland have been able to stay competitive against Liverpool even in defeat, and this fixture is still some weeks away from the date this form was assessed, so things could shift before kickoff.