Match Preview: Everton v Sunderland — Last Road Trip Of The Season!

Sunday 17th May 2026

Everton v Sunderland – Premier League

Hill Dickinson Stadium – Kick-Off: 15:00

Tickets & Match Coverage

Tickets: Tickets are sold out.

TV/Stream: Full live match coverage is available via Sky Sports.

Radio: Full live match commentary available via BBC Radio Newcastle (not online)

Don’t forget to follow the blow-by-blow account of the game on the Roker Report Twitter feed (@RokerReport) and check out the player ratings after the full-time whistle at www.RokerReport.sbnation.com!

The build-up…

It’s really starting to feel close to the end of this fantastic season as we prepare for our final game on the road.

We have the distinction of closing Everton’s first season at the brand new Hill Dickinson Stadium, which we can add to the record books, along with the fact that we were the first side to not only play them there in the FA Cup, but to knock them out of the competition as well.

But it’s the penultimate game of a good, positive season for both clubs, although we’ve gone about it in slightly different ways. Everton might be one point and two places better off in the table, but due to how consistently inconsistent they’ve been, they might be wondering what might have been.

The Toffees have not won, drawn, or lost in more than two successive games in the league this season. Every time they believed they might be on the cusp of a good run, they would suffer defeat, but on each occasion where they lost a couple, they would manage to bounce back and get a result.

On the other hand, for Sunderland, it’s been a season of two halves. Losing just four in the first twenty league games had us sitting in the top eight, but losing half of the sixteen games we’ve played since has seen us drop into the bottom half.

Both clubs have also seen an iffy run at the business end of the season, with the Lads going without a win in the last four and Everton having won just one of the last seven. But Everton needed a season like this, considering they’ve made the top ten just once in the six years before this one, and we’ve had a season that not many would have predicted at the final whistle at Wembley around a year ago.

Just two games left to enjoy this brilliant season, and with the pressure off both sides, who knows what type of game we might be in for?

The betting…

The bookies have the Lads at 3/1 to win the game. Everton are 5/6 to take all three points, and the draw is 13/5.

Head to head…at Everton

(All competitions)

• Sunderland wins: 21
• Draws: 14
• Everton wins: 61
• Sunderland goals: 113
• Evertongoals: 218

Last time we met…at the Hill Dickinson Stadium

Saturday 10th January 2026

FA Cup – Third Round

Everton 1-1 Sunderland (a.e.t – Sunderland won 3-0 on pens)

[Garner (pen) 89’ – Le Fee 30’]

Sunderland: Roefs, Hume, Mukiele, O’Nien, Cirkin, Xhaka, Sadiki, Adingra (Brobbey (Isidor)), Le Fee, Mundle, Mayenda (Ballard) Substitutes not used: Patterson, Hjelde, Alderete, Geertruida, Neil, Rigg

Everton: Pickford, Patterson (Welch), Mykolenko (Campbell), Rohl (Aznou), Tarkowski, O’Brien, Dibling (Barry), Garner, Beto, Armstrong, McNeilSubstitutes not used: Travers, King, Bates, Olayiwola, Graham

Attendance: 51,588

Prediction…

Everton 0-0 Sunderland

Two of the lowest scorers in the Premier League, and we’ve drawn twice already this season, means my head says goalless draw, but with the pressure off both sides, it might mean we see a game full of chances and goals. I’m going with my head.