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Sunderland's Premier League fixtures: Full 2025-26 schedule and key dates

Sunderland's Premier League fixtures: Full 2025-26 schedule and key dates

New York Times18-06-2025
Sunderland return to the Premier League for the 2025-6 season for the first time since 2016-17, after their playoff final win over Sheffield United, and begin the campaign at home against West Ham United.
In 2024-25, for the second successive season, every newly-promoted side were relegated again immediately but Sunderland will be aiming to buck that trend, and may be encouraged by a start which also includes meetings with Burnley, Brentford and Crystal Palace.
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Their games against rivals Newcastle United will take place at the Stadium of Light on December 13 and at St. James' Park on March 21, while Sunderland conclude the season with a visit from Chelsea.
All times in BST/GMT
By Chris Weatherspoon
A home season opener against London opposition brings back happy memories on Wearside – Sunderland's last opening day win at the Stadium of Light in the Premier League was back in 2007 against Tottenham Hotspur, a game which also followed promotion.
Sunderland's last four seasons in the Premier League in the mid-2010s saw them fail to win any of their opening six games, a trend they'll hope to buck this year.
Based on last season's finishing positions, they have the easiest first five games of any Premier League team in 2025-26. A good start looks especially necessary given what will come after.
Their November and December fixtures look tricky, to put it lightly, with a three-game run against Liverpool, Manchester City (both away) and Newcastle United enough to put them off their Advent chocolates. Between 29 November and 20 December, they face a run of five games against teams who finished in the top nine last season.
That hosting of local rivals Newcastle on 13 December will mark the first league meeting between the clubs since Newcastle's transformative takeover by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund in October 2021.
Sunderland's return to St James' Park will, curiously, occur exactly 10 years to the weekend of their last visit there in March 2016. Alongside the optimistic start, Sunderland will look to pick up points around a largely grim end of year run.
They host Leeds United the day after Boxing Day and other promoted club Burnley at the end of January, two fixtures that will be key in their battle against the drop.
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The exceptional pre-Club World Cup transfer window opened on June 1 and closed nine days later on June 10.
The summer window re-opened on June 16, while the cut-off date for the 2024-25 profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) reporting period coming at the end of the month on June 30. The window closes on Monday, September 1, at 11pm BST (6pm ET).
The winter transfer window opens on Thursday, January 1, and closes on Monday, February 2.
The new Premier League season gets underway on the weekend of August 15-17, a week after the Community Shield on August 8, when league champions Liverpool face FA Cup winners Crystal Palace.
The final match round will be played on Sunday, May 24, 2026, when all 10 matches will kick off simultaneously as usual.
Premier League clubs will enter the FA Cup at the third round, which begins on Saturday, January 10. The Carabao Cup will begin in mid-August, with Premier League teams not playing in Europe entering in the second round, which starts in the week commencing August 25, and the remaining seven clubs receiving a bye to the third round, which takes place in the weeks commencing September 15 and 22.
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Fantasy Football Roundtable: Here's the player we're fading at every position going into drafts in 2025
Fantasy Football Roundtable: Here's the player we're fading at every position going into drafts in 2025

Yahoo

time22 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Fantasy Football Roundtable: Here's the player we're fading at every position going into drafts in 2025

In preparation for your fantasy football draft, you're going to want to compile a list of players you want to target and players to avoid. It always feels tough figuring out which players you want to fade because there's always a chance you make the wrong decision. [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] Fortunately, the Yahoo fantasy football staff has you covered. We're joined by Scott Pianowski, Ray Garvin, Justin Boone and Matt Harmon, who will provide a player at each position that they think you should be fading in your fantasy football draft this season. Quarterback Scott: Baker Mayfield just had the season of his life, setting new personal marks in a slew of key categories. But the architect of that breakout, Liam Coen, has departed to Jacksonville. We try to be careful when a career season arrives late — Mayfield played his age-29 campaign last year — and he might not have Chris Godwin for a while. Given how deep the QB pool is this year, I'll nod to Mayfield in that second tier but leave him alone. Ray: Drake Maye has all the talent in the world and long term he's going to be really good. But for 2025, we need to pump the brakes. He's stepping into a new system with Josh McDaniels and Mike Vrabel, and everything about this offense suggests a run-first identity with Rhamondre Stevenson, second-rounder TreVeyon Henderson, and fresh investment in the offensive line. Maye averaged just 14 fantasy points per game as a rookie with only two top-10 weekly finishes. People pointing to 2020 Ryan Tannehill as the blueprint forget that was the best fantasy season any quarterback has had under Vrabel, finishing as QB9 at 22 points per game. Expecting Maye to make that kind of eight point per game leap in Year 2 feels ambitious. Justin: Jared Goff. Goff had a career year in 2024, throwing for 37 touchdowns and finishing as the eighth highest scoring fantasy quarterback on a per game basis. However, that was his best fantasy result in a long time. Over the previous four seasons, Goff was the QB15, QB16, QB25, QB22 and QB21. His lack of rushing production puts an increased emphasis on big yardage and TD totals, which will be harder to come by this season with offensive coordinator Ben Johnson leaving for Chicago and significant losses on the interior of the line (Frank Ragnow, Kevin Zeitler). The Lions QB also faces the fifth hardest fantasy schedule among passers this year and will have to play more games outside, where his numbers have taken a hit in the past. There are too many quarterbacks with higher ceilings to pay up for a guy like Goff. Matt: Patrick Mahomes. So, 99 times out of 100, if you're fading a player, it doesn't mean that you hate the player or even think that they're destined for a bad year. Usually, it's for structural or ADP-based reasons. That's the exact case with Mahomes, who is the best player at his position and could well be MVP and/or Super Bowl champ once again in 2025. My third tier of quarterbacks goes all the way from QB6 to QB17. It's super flat. Since Mahomes is the first name in that tier, there's just about no chance I click his name at his 50th overall ADP. I can buy that the Chiefs offense gets more high-flying this season but I just won't pay that opportunity cost to find out. Running back Justin: Joe Mixon. I'll take the low hanging fruit on this one and remind people to be very cautious about drafting Mixon, who remains on the non-football injury list. The Texans have been evasive when asked about Mixon's foot injury and there's been no update on his projected return from what's being called a 'complicated medical issue.' His status for Week 1 is definitely in doubt. Injury analyst Jeff Mueller said multiple sources have provided information that made him take Mixon off his draft board entirely. The other layer to consider is that even when Mixon returns, he'll have more competition with Woody Marks, Nick Chubb and Dameon Pierce all vying for touches. Count me among those who are staying away from Mixon this season. Matt: Ashton Jeanty. Let's hunt a big fish on this one. Typically, the best running backs in fantasy football play for the best teams and great offenses. I think the Raiders will be competent under their new coaching staff and with Geno Smith at quarterback, but they still may struggle to rank in the top-15 in points per game as an offense. The line is middling and even if the scoring unit shows out, they don't have the secondary or overall defensive talent to keep the team in run-first situations. That's troubling when volume of carries is the primary variable in Jeanty's fantasy appeal, besides the fact that he's good at the game. I'm not predicting some mega-bust season for Jeanty but I have him ranked between 14th and 16th overall and his ADP is 11th or 12th. So, I'll just have to enjoy his rookie season without having him on many teams. Ray: Kenneth Walker is a dog! I mean that in a good way. He's explosive, he's violent, and when he's on the field he can flip a game with one run. But that's the problem he hasn't stayed on the field. He's yet to play a full 17 game season and was limited to just 11 contests in 2024, posting career lows in yardage and yards per carry. Meanwhile, Zach Charbonnet, a tank in his own right, has been the steady one, suiting up for 33 of 34 games across his first two years while flashing three-down ability. Seattle is going back to a run first identity under Mike Macdonald, but this looks like a committee, not a Walker feature show. At cost, Walker is being drafted like a high-end RB2, but you're paying for production he hasn't delivered. I'd rather wait and take Charbonnet later. He's the one who's always available and in fantasy that matters just as much as talent. Scott: When I say I'm fading Saquon Barkley, understand what that means — I still see him as a first-round pick, but I'm a bit nervous after the 482-touch workload last year. Barkley also needs to score his touchdowns from distance — he didn't have a single one-yard plunge last year, and his average spike came from 29.4 yards away. In other words, his touchdown count could easily regress, too. If I select a running back in the first pass, it will be an ascending, up-escaltor talent like Bijan Robinson or Jahmyr Gibbs. Wide receiver Matt: D.J. Moore. I think that Moore can have a bounce-back, real-life season under Ben Johnson. I'm excited to hear he's being used across the formation and even taking reps from the backfield. This is the exact style of deployment I've been wanting to see for him to get into space for years now and it's certainly quite the opposite from what we saw last year in a boundary X-heavy role. However, I think the odds that Rome Odunze emerges as the top target on this team are 50/50 as the new staff completely re-evaluates the old in-house options. Since Odunze goes 32 picks later overall and there's a whopping 15-player gap in their positional spots in consensus rankings, I'll just take Odunze, who I thought was a terrific prospect and played better than credited in isolation last year. Justin: Zay Flowers. Flowers is an exciting young receiver playing in one of the league's most potent offenses and yet his fantasy outlook doesn't paint a picture of someone who's going to propel you towards a title. Last year, Flowers went over 1,000 yards for the first time, but was held outside the top-30 fantasy receivers in 10 different weeks — with just three WR1 finishes and three WR2 results. If you're hoping for increased touchdown scoring to help Flowers break out, just know that Mark Andrews will enter the season healthy (unlike last year) and the Ravens signed veteran DeAndre Hopkins, whose biggest contribution will likely come around the red zone. Flowers is a solid wideout in real life, he's just not someone worth his fifth-round price tag as the WR25. Scott: Puka Nacua is a star receiver, but the Rams haven't figured out how to use him around the goal line. Last year, Nacua saw just three targets and one catch inside the 10, a big reason why he stalled at three touchdowns. The news out of Rams camp isn't very Nacua friendly — Davante Adams is around to soak up goal-line opportunities, Kyren Williams was signed to an extension (he's a red-zone monster, too), and Matthew Stafford is dealing with a cranky back on the eve of his age-37 season. Nacua also might bring on some injury risk himself, given his checkered health resume from college. I respect the player, but I haven't been close to drafting Nacua yet this season. Ray: Garrett Wilson has been one of the most heavily utilized receivers in football, averaging 156 targets, 93 catches, and over 1,080 yards per season across his first three years. Yet despite all that volume, his fantasy production has been capped just 13.3 points per game on average, with finishes of WR18, WR30, and WR32. Now the Jets pivot to Justin Fields, a quarterback whose legs are his best weapon, paired with a coaching staff that wants to lean on the run behind a rebuilt offensive line. That screams less passing volume, not more. People are expecting Wilson to ascend in 2025. I see the opposite. If he hasn't cracked the WR1 tier with 150-plus targets annually, what happens when that dips? I'd be looking to spend my third-round draft capital elsewhere. Tight end Ray: Let me be clear, my real answer to the biggest tight end fade is anyone after the big three. George Kittle, Brock Bowers, and Trey McBride are the only guys I see with true league-winning upside. Everyone else is replaceable, and the gap between TE6 and TE18 is razor thin. For the sake of the greater good, I'll plant my flag on Tucker Kraft. He's a solid player, but Jordan Love is already dealing with a thumb injury, and we saw him miss time last season. If Malik Willis has to step in, that doesn't give me more confidence in Kraft's consistency. He averaged nine fantasy points per game last year, yet Yahoo drafters are taking him as a top-10 tight end. That's too rich when you can stream similar production rounds later. Scott: Some respected pundits in the industry disagree with me on the Evan Engram fade, and I get it. Whenever a name player joins a Sean Payton offense, the ears perk up. But Engram's last four seasons have been defined by a lack of explosiveness (a modest 8.9 yards per catch), and he's never been dynamic in the red zone — only 19 of his last 619 targets have gone for touchdowns, and he hasn't made it past four spikes since 2017. Maybe Bo Nix and Payton can give Engram a bump with the better offensive infrastructure, but I'm going to keep expectations modest as Engram enters his age-31 season. Matt: Sam LaPorta. I have nothing against the Lions tight end and have no reason to think he will have a bad season. However, he goes around the 49th overall pick and I am just not hunting tight ends in that range. He's at the top of my second tier of tight ends but there's a massive gap between him and some of the other options in that group, who all fall between pick 60 and 87. Frankly, I just don't take many tight ends inside the top-70 picks at all this year. It's a boring, structural justification, but that's fantasy football for you. Justin: Travis Kelce. Kelce will turn 36 during the season and is coming off arguably his worst statistical season in over a decade. His 823 receiving yards and 8.5 yards per reception were career lows — with the latter being over two yards under his previous low, which he set the year before. In addition to declining physical abilities, he's also surrounded by a much improved young receiving corps with Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy, Hollywood Brown and Jalen Royals. Kelce will still be the safety net for Patrick Mahomes, but he's not the engine that drives this offense anymore. This doesn't mean Kelce can't be a stable mid- to low-end TE1 on your roster, you just have to recalibrate your expectations because he's no longer a difference-making fantasy starter.

How to watch Leeds vs Everton 2025/26: cheap streams, TV details, preview
How to watch Leeds vs Everton 2025/26: cheap streams, TV details, preview

Tom's Guide

time24 minutes ago

  • Tom's Guide

How to watch Leeds vs Everton 2025/26: cheap streams, TV details, preview

The 2025-26 Premier League season continues, with Everton making the trip to Yorkshire to face last season's Championship title winners Leeds United. You can watch the first Monday Night Football of the season from anywhere in the world with a VPN. The Leeds vs Everton live stream takes place today (Monday, 18 August 2025).► Time: 8 p.m. BST / 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT / 6 a.m. AEDT (Sat)• U.S. — Watch on USA via Sling TV• U.K. — Watch on Sky Sports• Watch anywhere — try NordVPN 100% risk free The Whites were nothing short of sensational in the second tier last term, storming to promotion alongside Burnley. 100 points, 95 goals scored and just 30 conceded underpin just how impressive Daniel Farke's team were. However, the German is all too aware of the challenges that await in the EPL, having previously endured the difficulties of top-flight survival with Norwich City. Everton, meanwhile, head into the new campaign full of optimism. Summer signings such as Jack Grealish, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, and Thierno Barry have given fans plenty to be excited about even before the Toffees' first outing at the newly built Hill Dickinson Stadium next week. Their immediate task, however, is to secure three points at Elland Road. To do that, they must overcome a familiar face in former striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who joined Leeds last week after his summer release from Everton. The England international will be aiming to mark his debut with a goal against his boyhood club. Read on to find out how you can watch Leeds vs Everton live in the Premier League, no matter where you are in the world. Ukrainian soccer fans can watch all 380 Premier League games on Setanta Sports for just 109UAH (~$2.63) per month or 1090UAH (~$26.30) per year. Traveling outside of Ukraine? Use NordVPN to watch Leeds vs Everton and all 380 EPL games from anywhere in the world — more on that below. Away from home and blocked from watching the big game? You can still watch your usual Premier League live stream thanks to the wonders of a VPN (Virtual Private Network). The software makes your devices to appear to be back in your home country regardless of where in the world you are. Ideal for soccer fans away on vacation or on business. Our favorite is NordVPN. It's the best on the market: NordVPN deal: 3 Months Extra FREE Boasting lightning fast speeds, great features, streaming power, and class-leading security, NordVPN is our #1 VPN.✅ 3 months extra FREE!✅ 74% off usual price Use Nord to unblock your usual streaming service and watch Leeds vs Everton live online with our exclusive deal. It's really easy to use a VPN to watch Leeds vs Everton. 1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we've said, NordVPN is our favorite. 2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance, if you want to watch your USA Network stream of Leeds vs Everton, choose 'United States' from the list. 3. Sit back and enjoy the action. Head to Sling, sign in, and watch the Liverpool vs Bournemouth live. If you're a US resident, you can watch the opening game of the Premier League season live on USA Network with Sling TV. Sling's Blue TV plan lets you watch USA, which is carrying Leeds vs Everton. For a limited time, you can get your first month of Sling Blue half price making it a great way to watch live EPL football across the 2025-26 season. Outside the States right now? Make sure to use a VPN to access Sling. Can't find your stream for the big game? We have full information on watching the 2025-26 Premier League with this guide or we have our short list for this fixture below: As alluded to earlier, in the U.S., USA Network via Sling TV is your go to for this game. Sling TV packages start at $45.99 for a month but right now you can get your first month half price. U.S. residents visiting another country can access Sling using NordVPN. In the U.K. Sky Sports will be showing all the action or you can tune in via Now Sports. Prices start from £22/month for Sky and £14.99/day on Now. Outside the U.K. during the game? Use NordVPN to watch your Sky or Now streams while abroad. In Canada, it will be Fubo as ever. Prices start from CA$31/month for Fubo's Sports Monthly package and that will give you full access to all 380 EPL games. Worried about missing the big game because you are traveling outside the Great White North? Don't worry, NordVPN will let you access your Fubo streams from anywhere in the world. In Australia, Stan Sport will be showing the action. This costs AU$20/month on top of a Stan plan, which starts at AU$12/month. Visiting a different country for Friday's fixture? NordVPN will give you access to Stan Sport's Leeds vs Everton stream.

Why Manchester United's Mason Mount is valued by his managers
Why Manchester United's Mason Mount is valued by his managers

New York Times

time25 minutes ago

  • New York Times

Why Manchester United's Mason Mount is valued by his managers

The footballers adored by supporters are not always the footballers appreciated by the managers they play for. When Mason Mount was at his best — and we're going back half a decade now — he was essentially considered the opposite of Jack Grealish in the build-up to Euro 2020. Whereas Grealish was an entertainer, a wildcard, a playmaker capable of the unexpected, Mount was cast as the teacher's pet. At times, people questioned precisely what he offered. Advertisement If Grealish was an individualist, Mount was a system player. First and foremost, he carried out the manager's instructions. On top of that, he offered tactical intelligence, always understanding the system, how to find space, and how to bring the best from his team-mates. In Manchester United's 1-0 defeat to Arsenal at Old Trafford on Sunday, a game where United dominated and created the better chances, Mount, 26, offered a reminder of why managers value him. It was something of a surprise that Mount started the match. United's three big-name summer arrivals — Matheus Cunha, Benjamin Sesko and Bryan Mbeumo — have understandably been depicted as the first-choice attacking trio in the 3-4-2-1 system head coach Ruben Amorim insists upon. But Sesko had only had a week of pre-season as he waited to find out who he'd be playing for this season, so Mount got the nod. Cunha was United's most advanced player, with Mount in the inside-left role. That is the role, and this is the system, in which he has played his best football — particularly at Chelsea under Thomas Tuchel, who was watching from the stands at Old Trafford in his current capacity as England manager. Upon Amorim taking charge of United last November, there were only three players in the squad who had played a higher-than-average percentage of their career minutes in a back-three system: Rasmus Hojlund, Manuel Ugarte and Mount. It remains to be seen whether the other two have the requisite ability. For Mount, it's more about staying fit: he still hasn't completed 90 minutes in the Premier League for United, two years after his arrival from Chelsea. But from the outset yesterday, this felt like the Mount of old. Take him collecting this long pass from goalkeeper Altay Bayindir. He's positioned perfectly between right-back Ben White and centre-back William Saliba — look at Gabriel throwing his arms up in the air, asking who is challenging Mount. He's right to ask, and the answer is that it probably should have been Saliba. But Mount continually receives the ball on Sunday by putting himself in precisely this position. What you really want from a right-footed inside-left is for them to find space between the lines and play through balls for other attackers. Mount showed that ability five minutes in, with this pass in behind for Mbeumo, which brought to mind the ball he played for Kai Havertz to score the only goal in Chelsea's 2021 Champions League final win over Manchester City. Here, Mbeumo took the ball a little too wide before shooting straight at David Raya. Another pass from Mount to Mbeumo was this crossfield ball midway through the first half. When Amorim first replaced Erik ten Hag last season, these switches of play felt like the defining feature of his side. This one allowed Mbeumo to play in Diogo Dalot on the overlap, although the pass was delayed, and United's right wing-back had strayed offside. But the inside forwards combining with the wing-backs is what this 3-4-2-1 system is all about, and Mount always knows where 'his' wing-back is. This was a classic example: he has dragged White inside and knows the space on the far side is open, so he almost runs around the ball to sweep a first-time, left-footed pass out to Patrick Dorgu, who has half the pitch to himself. Yesterday was possibly Dorgu's best performance since joining United in January from Lecce of Italy, and it was no coincidence that it came playing behind Mount, who is a facilitator as much as anything else. Dorgu clearly enjoyed bouncing passes off him — on this occasion, making an underlapping run while Mount is holding the width. United increased their attacking threat down the left in the second half, when Luke Shaw, playing on the left of their back three, pushed forward to join in. In this example, Dorgu is out wide, Shaw makes the underlapping run, and Mount can remain infield to receive the cutback and have a decent shot, which is blocked. There were elements of rotation, too. Here, Dorgu is the player you expect to find in Mount's position in the pocket, Shaw has overlapped and is temporarily playing the Dorgu role, while Mount himself is the deepest of the three, playing the initial forward pass. And while some of this seems simple on paper, United's struggles down the right showed the importance of understanding between players. Mbeumo started brightly when dribbling in behind but in addition to the aforementioned delayed pass which caught Dalot offside, here he didn't understand what type of pass Amad wanted, and played a ball in behind just as Amad was holding his run. It is now six years since Mount's Premier League debut, which came when he was impressive in terms of positioning and link play on the opening weekend of a season at Old Trafford, even as his Chelsea side lost 4-0. Those who question what he offers will note that this weekend's display was another 'good performance' in which he didn't score or create a goal. Advertisement United have brought in three excellent individual attackers this summer, but they have signed great individuals before. What they have generally lacked is cohesion, and Mount is a system player who makes those around him better. That's why his managers tend to like him. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle

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