Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris has cited his side’s ‘belief’ as one of the main reasons for their positive season so far.
The Black Cats are currently eighth in the Premier League, level with seventh-placed Brentford, who they face at the Gtech Community Stadium on Wednesday.
Sunderland remained four points clear of the Champions League places after coming from behind to draw 1-1 with Tottenham this weekend thanks to a powerful strike from Brian Brobbey.
They have also come back from a goal down to beat Chelsea and draw with Arsenal in the 2025/26 season.
Le Bris praised his side’s resilience and the attitude of their substitutes after their stalemate with Spurs.
“It’s a matter of faith,” Le Bris said.
Granit Xhaka, captain of Sunderland AFC. pic.twitter.com/MVmjrlQyeF
— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) January 5, 2026
“If you can turn a match like that around, it gives you confidence for the future, because you know you can do it again.
“We have shown many times that it is possible, and that belief is always in our minds.
“The bench has helped us again because we need our finishers. Sometimes we need one, two or three, and they have helped a lot.”
Brentford are unbeaten in their last five games in the league after beating Everton 4-2 on Sunday.
Igor Thiago scored a hat-trick in the win at Hill Dickinson Stadium, marking his first goal in the competition since a win over Burnley at the end of November.
“It’s a very good feeling,” said the Brazilian striker.
“I am happy with my performance and with getting the three points from a difficult match.
“Everyone supports me, everyone believes in me, so thank you also to my teammates, the staff and the fans.
“It means so much to me, it means to them [fans] support me, they believe in me, they trust me and they push me, so I’m very happy when they sing my name and when they support me.
Good morning pic.twitter.com/Hwb1Fprmrn
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) January 5, 2026
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Brentford – Igor Thiago
Thiago has scored 14 Premier League goals for Brentford this season, just one shy of the most by a Brazilian player in a single season in the competition (15).
That record was previously set by three players: Roberto Firmino in 2017/18, Gabriel Martinelli in 2022/23 and Matheus Cunha in 2024/25.
Sunderland – Brian Brobbey
In addition to his strikes against Arsenal and Bournemouth earlier this season, Brobbey now has three goals to his name in the Premier League.
The 23-year-old is already one goal short of matching his Eredivisie tally from 2024-2025, when he scored four times in 30 games.
MATCH PREDICTION – BRENTFORD WIN
This is only the second time Brentford have hosted Sunderland in a league match in the 21st century, following a 3-3 draw in the Championship in October 2017.
Brentford have secured 34 points, from a possible 39 at home against promoted clubs in the Premier League (W11 D1 L1). The exceptions were a 2-1 defeat to Norwich City in November 2021 and a 1-1 draw against Leeds United last month.
And Brentford have won six of their 10 home Premier League games this season (D3 L1) under new manager Keith Andrews. It is the most wins by a Bees manager in his first ten home league games since Mark Warburton won nine of his first ten in 2013/14 in League One.
Following their 2-1 win at the Stadium of Light in August, Sunderland will be looking to complete their first league double against Brentford since 1987-88 in the third tier.
However, Sunderland have drawn each of their last four Premier League games and could become the first side to draw five in a row in the competition since Fulham from December 2020 to January 2021.
OPTA CHANCE OF WINNING
Brentford – 57.6%
Draw – 22%
Sunderland – 20.4%
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