Lech Poznan vs Sunderland Preview

Lech Poznań host Sunderland at the Municipal Stadium-Poznan on Thursday evening with no points, no goals and eight conceded from their first two Europa League games, while Sunderland sit ninth on six points. Lech are 36th and bottom of the table, having lost their opener and then 4-0 at home to Bayer Leverkusen on 15 October. Sunderland have won both of theirs, 1-0 at home against AZ Alkmaar and 2-1 away at Torreense, but they were beaten 2-0 at Bournemouth in the Premier League on Sunday. Lech bounced back with a 6-1 home win over Korona Kielce in the Ekstraklasa on the same day. Kick-off in Poznań is at 5:45pm UK time.

Lech’s last five read W3 D1 L1, with 17 goals scored and nine conceded. The latest was Sunday’s 6-1 home win over Korona Kielce, the biggest margin of the five and a thumping by any scoreline. Before that, Bayer Leverkusen won 4-0 in the Europa League on 15 October, the one defeat of the run and the only game in which Lech failed to score. Further back, they won 4-1 away at Slask Wroclaw on 10 October, drew 2-2 at home with Cottbus in a friendly on 3 October and won 5-1 at home against Radomiak Radom on 20 September. Lech scored at least four goals in three of the five games. Four of the five were played at home, where they won two, drew one and lost one.

Sunderland have won two and lost three of their last five, scoring six and conceding ten, and both wins came in the Europa League. Sunday’s 2-0 defeat away at Bournemouth in the Premier League is the latest, a game in which they failed to score. Before that, they won 2-1 away at Torreense in the Europa League on 15 October, and Brighton won 2-0 at Sunderland in the league on 10 October. Further back, Manchester City won 5-3 against Sunderland on 20 September, and AZ Alkmaar were beaten 1-0 at home in the Europa League on 16 September. All three of their Premier League games in the run ended in defeat, with nine goals conceded. Away from home, Sunderland won one and lost two.

There is no previous meeting between Lech Poznań and Sunderland on record, so both clubs sit on zero wins and zero draws against each other. In the absence of a history, the home and away split in recent form is the best guide. Lech’s four home games in the sample at the Municipal Stadium-Poznan brought two wins, a draw and a defeat, while Sunderland’s three away games brought a win at Torreense and defeats at Manchester City and Bournemouth.

Sunderland are ninth in the league phase standings on six points with a goal difference of +2, and Lech Poznań are 36th on zero points with -8. A win would take Lech to three points, though their position would depend on results elsewhere on matchday three.

In Poland, the match is live on Polsat Sport 1 and Polsat Sport Premium 1, with Polsat Box Go streaming. UK viewers can watch on TNT Sports 1, with HBO Max streaming, while in the USA it’s on Paramount+ and ViX. In Ireland, TNT Sports 1 and HBO Max carry the game.

Possible Lineups

Lech Poznan — Form

Sunderland — Form

Head to Head

Where to Watch

Table

Europa League Standings