Match at Stadium of Light, Sunderland, in the Premier League (Regular Season - 30), kicks off on 2026-03-14 at 15:00 UTC. Sunderland come in 11th on 40 points, while Brighton sit 14th with 37 points.
Sunderland Availability
The hosts are heavily hit by absences and will be without J. T. Bi, B. Brobbey, D. Cirkin, Reinildo Mandava, N. Mukiele, R. Mundle, R. Roefs and B. Traoré, all ruled out through various injuries including muscle and knee problems. Creative hub Granit Xhaka is fit and available, bringing 1 goal and a team‑high 5 assists from midfield, which will be vital to compensate for the missing attacking options.
Brighton Availability
Brighton’s issues are concentrated in defence. Captain L. Dunk, A. Webster and S. Tzimas are all out with knee injuries, weakening their back line and depth. Young defender C. Tasker is facing a late fitness test with an unspecified injury. In attack, leading scorer D. Welbeck is fully fit, carrying 10 goals (including 1 from the penalty spot) and remains Brighton’s key threat.
Sunderland’s injury list is longer and includes several forwards, placing extra creative and scoring responsibility on Xhaka and the remaining attackers. Brighton lose leadership and stability at the back through Dunk and Webster, but crucially retain almost all of their attacking output via Welbeck’s 10-goal contribution.
