West Ham United vs Sunderland: Premier League preview, predictions & bet builder tips

• Sunderland expected to dampen West Ham spirits with an away win

• Granit Xhaka tipped to continue his fine form with another assist

• Jean-Clair Todibo backed for a booking on a battling afternoon

As two stuttering sides meet at the London Stadium, Ladbrokes shares its West Ham vs Sunderland preview, with expert bet builder tips and predictions.

Sunderland are enjoying an excellent return to Premier League action after eight years away, but their form has started to slow down of late, with just two wins in nine since the start of December. This has seen them slip away from the top four, but the Black Cats still boast a 16-point lead over West Ham, whose top-flight status looks to be in real danger.

The Hammers have won just once in their last 11 outings, and despite picking up victory at Spurs last week, still find themselves five points from safety ahead of kick-off - so this one has all the ingredients of a real Premier League classic.

Read on for our West Ham vs Sunderland Bet Builder, and don't forget to check out our predictions for every Premier League game this weekend, as well as our weekly four-fold acca.

• Fixture: West Ham United vs Sunderland

• Date: Saturday, 24 January, 2026

• Kick-off: 12:30 GMT

• Venue: London Stadium

Our prediction: West Ham United 1-3 Sunderland

With neither side really coming into this game in top form, the odds don't reflect an overwhelming favourite, but we're expecting Sunderland to be far too strong for their bruised hosts. An opening-day 3-0 win against the Hammers set the tone for the Black Cats' campaign, and with West Ham firmly among the favourites for relegation, they could struggle against such a well-drilled, motivated Sunderland.

We're predicting a 3-1 victory for the away side, with Regis Le Bris' team winning at the London Stadium for the very first time.

Predicted lineup (4-2-3-1): Areola / Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Todibo, Scarles / Soucek, Fernandes / Bowen, Pablo, Summerville / Castellanos

Predicted lineup (4-2-3-1): Roefs / Mukiele, Ballard, Alderete, Reinildo / Xhaka, Sadiki / Adingra, Le Fee, Mundle / Brobbey

The beating heart of Sunderland's midfield, Granit Xhaka is being lauded by many as the signing of the season, and the Swiss international will look to dictate the tempo of the game on Saturday afternoon. Averaging 52 passes per game - a tally surpassing any West Ham player - Xhaka will see a lot of the ball at the London Stadium, and against such a porous defence, we're backing him to grab an assist.

Whether it's a set piece swung in to the likes of Dan Ballard, or a measured through ball to send Brian Brobbey on his way, the Sunderland captain will be at the centre of everything good for his side, and has every chance of adding to his five Premier League assists this season. The 33-year-old is arguably getting better with age, and as Sunderland's second-most productive player this term, we're predicting another contribution here.

Ladbrokes is backing Granit Xhaka to set up a teammate and notch an assist at the London Stadium, moving him up to third in the 2025/26 Premier League's assist charts.

After finding the net last week for his first Premier League goal of the season, Crysencio Summerville will hope to kickstart a run of form just when his team need it most - and we're backing him to attack this game with real confidence, getting at least one shot on target against Sunderland in the weekend's early kick-off.

The exciting young winger has had an underwhelming tenure at West Ham thus far, bagging just two goals in 36 Premier League games, but he's become a mainstay on the left-hand side of late, and is beginning to take some of the burden off skipper Jarrod Bowen. Summerville only averages around 0.4 shots on target per 90, but has tested the opposition goalkeeper in three of his last four games, so the Dutchman may well be coming into form.

With that in mind, Ladbrokes is expecting his forward momentum to continue, so we're tipping Crysencio Summerville to have 1+ shots on target vs Sunderland.

Despite only playing 90 minutes in 14 of West Ham's 22 Premier League games so far this season, Jean-Clair Todibo sits second in the club for yellow cards, with the Frenchman earning four bookings this term - and we're tipping him to pick up another one in a battling match at the London Stadium.

Remarkably, Todibo's four yellows have come from just six fouls, but we expect the centre back to be penalised as the likes of Brian Brobbey and Eliza Mayenda cause him real problems this weekend. A huge physical battle is on the cards, and with the pace of Sunderland's fluid front three, Todibo could easily be caught out and exposed in a less-than-impressive Hammers backline.

As a result, fouling his opponents may be necessary to stem the Sunderland tide, so we're tipping Jean-Clair Todibo to be shown a card this weekend.

Bringing a close to our West Ham United vs Sunderland preview and predictions, we're dipping into the match betting market, and Ladbrokes is backing the visitors to walk away from the capital with an important win.

Despite their away form falling short compared to their imperious home record, Sunderland travel to the London Stadium with real confidence of picking up the points, with West Ham only winning once since November. The Hammers have conceded more goals at home than Sunderland have all season, and with such a fragile backline, it's hard to see them standing firm against a spirited Sunderland side still dreaming of European football.

In the weekend's early kick-off, we're backing Sunderland to beat West Ham, piling further misery on Nuno Espirito Santo and his relegation-threatened side.

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All odds and markets are correct as of the date of publication.