Football betting tips: Premier League
1pt Everton to win at 9/5 (Betfred)
The Premier League has desperately needed a Sunderland in recent years.
Not just for the stature of the club and the fan base they bring but the fact that they've actually built a competitive team, in the early stages at least.
Add Burnley and Leeds into this equation as well. We were at a danger point of seeing the gap to the promoted sides growing to an unsustainable level - last year's trio have 38 points of which the Black Cats are responsible for 17.
You can point to an easy enough start to the season but they've done exactly what they needed to do. Win games but also take points off those who you'd expect will be around them come the latter parts of the campaign.
And then they've also turned up at Stamford Bridge and snatched all three points from Enzo Maresca's dull Chelsea outfit.
Confidence will be high and rightly so. I just can't shake the feeling that Everton leave the Stadium of Light with something, even the potential to inflict a first home defeat of the season for Sunderland.
The thing which struck me about Sunderland's transfer window, beyond the obvious talent and 'above expected level' players they managed to capture, is that they looked like they were building a team with talent in possession but questions to answer out of it.
They've certainly done that. Regis Le Bris' side rank 18th for possession and when they don't have the ball, it's a passive approach in which they don't apply a significant amount of pressure.
It's structure and it's annoying to play against. But then I wonder what happens when they come up against another side happy to cede the ball to their opponents.
Sunderland's most eye-catching results of the season saw 32% possession against Chelsea and 37% when hammering West Ham on opening weekend. The two games they lost? Burnley where they had 58% of the ball and a 50-50 split at Old Trafford.
I'll even chuck in the 70% possession when a strong-enough outfit were dumped out of the Carabao Cup by Huddersfield. I just wonder if David Moyes will be happy enough to sit back and make Sunderland play a bit.
After all, they got promoted averaging 48.6% possession - a figure which ranked them 13th in the Sky Bet Championship.
This is not to say that Sunderland don't have the players when it comes to individual quality, that's far from the case, but it's more about the overall system and structure when forced into controlling the tempo.
Everton's league trip to Wolves saw them 3-1 up after 55 minutes with just 43% possession at the point, they also went 2-0 up at roughly the same stage against Brighton on opening weekend with 42%.
I'm more than prepared for this entire theory to be incorrect and Everton to end up with more of the ball, but even then they have enough about them to get a result.
A best price of 9/5 is available on an EVERTON WIN, with 17/10 floating in the majority of other places, and that's where I'm siding in a game priced as a pick 'em.
Odds correct at 1130 GMT (31/10/25)
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