Several Sunderland players took the spotlight after their 3-0 victory against West Ham in the first match of the 2025-26 Premier League.

Craig: Championship play-off semis: Sunderland won't win. Final: they won't win. Get promoted: Sunderland are coming straight back down. Proving the naysayers wrong is what we what we love to do! More please.

Sunderland marked their return to the Premier League with a stunning 3-0 win over West Ham United at the Stadium of Light.Eliezer Mayenda scored their first topflight goal in eight years just past

New boys Sunderland beat West Ham 3-0 at the Stadium of Light on Saturday as the Black Cats secured their first Premier League win in over eight years.

However, it was a return that lasted just 53 minutes, the unlucky Dutch defender landing heavily after a towering defensive header. It was a sliding doors moment because his replacement, debutant Omar Alderete, was the player to finally expose the weakness identified in the Hammers' defence.

West Ham have submitted bids for Southampton’s Mateus Fernandes and Barcelona’s Marc Casadó as they scramble to add energy and creativity to their midfield. The club also had an approach for Andrey Santos rejected by Chelsea earlier this week and were advised not to try for the Brazilian midfielder again.

West Ham vs Chelsea is scheduled for an 8pm BST kick-off on Friday, August 22, 2025. The game will take place at the London Stadium. TV channel: The game will be shown live on Sky Sports in the UK, broadcast on their Main Event and Premier League channels.

It just felt like, no matter what West Ham planned to do to us, we'd find a way to combat it. I felt that way when we played Coventry too, and it's not often in my life as a Sunderland supporter that I've felt those feelings,

Sunderland returns to the Premier League for the first time in eight years, and is hoping to stick around this time. They moved up after defeating Sheffield United in a championship playoff final, joining Leeds and Burnley as the three clubs to secure promotion.

Preview the matchup between West Ham United and Sunderland AFC with predictions, odds, over/under, betting lines and more.