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Regis Le Bris, manager of Sunderland FC, during the Premier League match between Sunderland and Chelsea at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland, United Kingdom, on May 24, 2026. (Photo by Scott Llewellyn/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images) | NurPhoto via Getty Images
I’ve seen and heard a lot of comments since we qualified for Europe.
From people on the outside of the Sunderland bubble, the consensus seems to be “Well done, but you’re going to struggle with the schedule.”
While Spurs, Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace finished in the places directly above the relegation zone, Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool and Aston Villa all finished in the top five. So what’s the deciding factor?
For Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool, you could take the view of “They’re used to it”, having been in Europe consistently over the years. A schedule that demands you play in midweek then again at the weekend is more tiring, but nothing we aren’t used to.
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For the previous nine years, Sunderland AFC played to the EFL schedule: forty six games plus all the cups. Just a year ago, we completed a season of fifty one games — which was only that low as we went out in the first round of both cups.
Combined with the fact that a number of players we brought in have European competition experience in addition to being internationals, and I’d suggest we can more than hold our own.
The Premier League season is thirty eight games. Eight Europa League games in the initial phase only amounts to forty six, plus however we do in the cups. For reference, in 2025/2026, Arsenal played sixty three games, Manchester City sixty, Liverpool fifty seven, and Aston Villa fifty six.
With four or five additions to boost squad numbers over the summer, in my opinion, we can be confident it won’t be too much of a stretch.
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