Sunderland FPL: Who To Own, Captain And Avoid

Sunderland: the value is at the back, and it's cheap

Third-meanest defence in the league, eighteenth-best attack. That's Sunderland in one line, and it tells you exactly which end of the pitch your money should go.

Start with the obvious problem: nobody up front is worth buying. Brobbey starts every week — I'll give him that, minutes are minutes — but he's leading the line for one of the bluntest attacks in the division, and the fixtures don't help: City away, Chelsea at home, Bournemouth away. A very tough run for a team that struggles to score against anyone. He's priced like a striker; he'll return like a bench body. Pass.

The back line is a different conversation. Ballard at £4.9m is the pick of the lot — nailed, tops our projections for the club over the next six, and hardly anyone owns him. That's a defender price from a team that keeps the door shut most weeks, and the run isn't as scary as it looks once you get past the Etihad: Brighton at home, Leeds at home, Coventry away are all games where a clean sheet is a genuine live possibility. Roefs at £5.0m is the same argument in gloves, and Mukiele carries a bit more going forward if you'd rather spend the extra £0.6m — though he's started one fewer game than the others, which for a defender pick is the whole ballgame. Meunier at £4.5m is the pure enabler: starts every week, funds a premium elsewhere, expects little.

In midfield, Xhaka edges Le Fée in our rankings despite Le Fée being on corners, free kicks and sharing penalties. That tells you something: in an attack this toothless, set pieces are a nice tiebreaker, not a reason to spend £5.8m. If you want a Sunderland midfielder, Xhaka at £5.5m is the steadier buy — but honestly, neither is the point of this page.

The caveat is real: an "average" clean-sheet run includes Haaland away in the very next game and Chelsea at the end of it. If you're buying, accept the odd zero as the cost of doing business — or wait one week and get in for Brighton at home.

The call: buy Ballard at £4.9m. Nailed starter, one of the league's stingiest defences, barely anyone owns him. That's what value looks like — it's just not glamorous.