‘Exciting’: Régis Le Bris issues Sunderland message as they face Man City and Erling Haaland test

Sunderland return to Premier League action on Saturday with a daunting trip to face Manchester City, and head coach Régis Le Bris admits his side are bracing for one of their toughest assignments of the campaign.

The Black Cats head into the clash buoyed by their impressive 1-1 draw at Anfield in midweek, a result that strengthened their belief that they can take points even in the most challenging away fixtures. While encouraged by recent performances, Le Bris says his players are under no illusions about the scale of the challenge at the Etihad.

“Another tough but exciting challenge,” he said. “This league never gives you time to breathe. We switch back on and go again. We’re looking forward to it. Our confidence grows with every experience, and our collective understanding is improving.

“But Manchester City are arguably the best team in the league in possession. The pitch is big, the quality is enormous, and we know this will be one of our hardest tests this season. So we’ll recover quickly and give everything.”

Sunderland will also have to contend with the threat of Erling Haaland, who has already racked up an astonishing 33 goals in 24 appearances for club and country this season.

“We’ll need to stop him as a team—no one can do that alone,” Le Bris said. “He showed his quality again against Fulham. When he has time and the midfield connects with him, they are incredibly dangerous. We’ll prepare to avoid being too exposed in those areas. It’s different, but we know how strong City are.”

Manchester City survived a scare of their own in midweek after Fulham fought back from 5-1 down to 5-4 late on, something Le Bris noted while also praising Fulham’s attacking threat. Still, he says the fightback shows Guardiola’s side can be got at.

“Fulham have real attacking impact—they can score goals,” he said. “We saw that when we played them away. They carry threats everywhere. It shows that City can concede and they have weaknesses, just like every team.

“We’ll try to manage their strengths and create chances of our own. It will come down to balance.”

Le Bris unlikely to rest Xhaka or Sadiki despite suspension risk

Le Bris also hinted that Granit Xhaka and Noah Sadiki are set to keep their places despite both being one booking away from a one-match ban. With the Wear-Tyne derby against Newcastle United looming next weekend, supporters have been nervous about the pair picking up costly fifth yellow cards.

However, having already navigated several matches without triggering suspensions, the duo look likely to start against City as Sunderland aim to build on their strong performance at Anfield.

“Today showed we can take points anywhere,” Le Bris said. “So maybe we can do it again against City. We’ll try to play with our strongest team, even knowing the suspension issue could arise. For now, the players have managed the situation well.”