FPL promoted teams: Sunderland full-back Hume could offer value..
With Sunderland topping our Season Ticker over the first six Gameweeks, full-back Trai Hume could offer early value in Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
In this article, we will discuss the Mackems’ overall clean sheet potential and examine the key players in their backline.
A profile of manager Regis Le Bris ran before this piece, with a review of the Sunderland attack to follow.
To get a fan’s perspective, we spoke to Fantasy Football Scout users FPL Sess and 1justlookin.
You can find links to the other articles in our Promoted series below.
WHAT IS SUNDERLAND’S CLEAN SHEET POTENTIAL?
P W D L F A GD CS PTS
Overall record 46 21 13 12 58 44 +14 17 76
Home 23 12 7 4 32 18 +14 9 43
Away 23 9 6 8 26 26 0 8 33
Sunderland had the fourth-best defence in the Championship last season.
They achieved 17 clean sheets, which is a respectable number, but it falls significantly short of the totals recorded by Burnley and Leeds United, which were 30 and 25, respectively.
24/25 total (rank v other Championship clubs)
Goals conceded 44 (4th)
Clean sheets 17 (4th)
Expected goals conceded 49.0 (5th)
Shots per game conceded 11.0 (=4th)
Possession 49.0 (=12th)
That said, Sunderland were well organised throughout the 2024/25 season, and while making the jump from the second tier of English football to the elite is rarely easy, Le Bris’ counter-attack style should at least be well-suited to the Premier League.
“Le Bris likes to soak up the pressure and up the pace once we win back possession. Very rarely will we have more possession than our opponents, a little bit like Nottingham Forest in that way.” – 1justlookin
Furthermore, new arrivals Habib Diarra and Noah Sadiki should suit Le Bris’ tactical approach, owing to their energy and dynamism.
READ MORE: Who is new £30m Sunderland signing Habib Diarra?
Sunderland are likely to bring in a new goalkeeper and centre-back, too.
“… our priorities have to be a new defensive midfielder to replace Neil, and at least one centre-back now that Mepham has left, which will provide some much-needed competition with Ballard and O’Nien.” – 1justlookin
THE PLAYERS
2024/25: APPS, GOALS AND ASSISTS
Player Primary position 24/25 Starts (sub apps) Goals Assists
Luke O’Nien CB 47 (1) 3 1
Trai Hume RB 46 (1) 3 6
Anthony Patterson GK 45 0 0
Chris Mepham* CB 37 (3) 1 0
Dennis Cirkin LB 33 (6) 3 2
Dan Ballard CB 15 (8) 3 1
Leo Hjelde LB 5 (12) 0 1
Aji Alese LB 8 (4) 0 0
Simon Moore GK 4 0 0
Joe Anderson LB 1 (1) 0 0
Jensen Seelt CB 0 (1) 0 0
*No longer at the club
TRAI HUME / DENNIS CIRKIN
Fantasy EFL: Gameweek 12 Scout Notes 4.
The majority of Sunderland’s attacks last season came down the flanks, which should bring full-backs Trai Hume and Dennis Cirkin into contention.
Hume, who is just 23 and primarily plays at right-back, excelled under Le Bris, frequently bombing forward into the final third.
He produced three goals and six assists in 47 league appearances.
A total of 63 key passes was the most of any promoted defender, too:
Defender Club Mins Key passes Mins per key pass
Hume Sunderland 4,110 63 64.2
Firpo Leeds 2,622 48 54.6
Bogle Leeds 3,836 37 103.7
Pires Burnley 2,800 36 77.8
Roberts Burnley 3,638 28 129.9
Additionally, he attempted 22 of his 33 shots from inside the opposition area.
Hume also won 128 tackles last season, easily the most of any Sunderland player, further adding to his appeal as a budget enabler.
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