Follow live updates from Saturday's five Premier League games
Watch Football Focus at top of page, with BBC Radio 5 Live coverage via 'watch & listen' tab
Bournemouth host Sunderland at 12:30 GMT
Three games at 15:00 GMT, including Liverpool v West Ham
Leeds face second-placed Man City at 17:30 GMT
Bournemouth 0-0 Sunderland
Francis Benali
Former Southampton defender on BBC Radio 5 Live at Vitality Stadium
It is a great opportunity for Bournemouth to climb the table a little bit, and it's an opportunity for Sunderland to add to their total.
Bournemouth 0-0 Sunderland
Bournemouth's pretty football starts immediately as Rayan backheels the ball to Marcus Tavernier, but he can't find Junior Kroupi on the overlap.
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Bournemouth are the best team to watch in England, possibly Europe. Their identity is clear and the players seamlessly integrate into the system.
John, West Ham
Bournemouth 0-0 Sunderland
Referee Jarred Gillett gets this game going.
Bournemouth v Sunderland (12:30 GMT)
One minute to kick-off.
Tough question. Based on recency bias, we have just praised Bournemouth non-stop for an hour, I'll go with, yes.
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Have Bournemouth surpassed Brighton & Brentford as the best run club in the Premier League? To me it’s tough to choose between Bournemouth & Brentford.
Graham, Essex
Bournemouth v Sunderland (12:30 GMT)
Teams are out. Sunny Bournemouth is, well, sunny.
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Don't fret, Lyle. Every choice in FPL I've made this season has backfired, and after being dead-set on bringing Rayan in, I decided to roll the transfer. He'll get a hat trick, two assists, DefCon and probably save a penalty knowing my luck. Best of luck to all today!
Harry, Maidstone
Bournemouth v Sunderland (12:30 GMT)
Mark Chapman
Presenter on BBC Radio 5 Live
I find Bournemouth the most fun to watch in the Premier League . They're not the best, and they're not perfect, which helps.
Bournemouth v Sunderland (12:30 GMT)
Alan Shearer
Former England striker on BBC Radio 5 Live
Image source, Getty ImagesIt has been tight and so congested in the Premier League. Standard wise, it has not been a great season for the Premier League.
I think there have been so many clubs that have fallen below what they produced in years gone by.
Arsenal have been the exception to that, but when you look at the position Bournemouth is in and consider what they had to do in pre-season with selling their players, that is a very well run football club.
The recruitment has been amazing. For them to be sat in eight with a chance to go into seventh is fantastic for them.
So strange, ain't it? When Antoine Semenyo left Bournemouth they were 15th, now they're eighth.
They haven't lost in the league since they sold him.
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After Bournemouth sold their main man, Semenyo, I thought they were going to be relegated, but how wrong was I. They're now fighting for European places!
Youssef, Manchester
Bournemouth v Sunderland (12:30 GMT)
Francis Benali
Former Southampton defender on BBC Radio 5 Live at Vitality Stadium
The start Sunderland had was outstanding. There was always going to be spells where you have a dip. Granit Xhaka coming back in today will give them that experience. He will be a massive boost for them.
Bournemouth v Sunderland (12:30 GMT)
Alan Shearer
Former England striker on BBC Radio 5 Live
The bigger picture for Sunderland was always going to be to try to stay in this league. They will be able to enjoy their last 11 games and the vast majority of this season for Sunderland has been positive.
BBC Radio 5 Live
It's another busy day for the BBC Radio 5 Live team, and you can join them by clicking 'Listen live' at the top of this live page!
5 Live will be bringing you two live commentaries today. First up, you can listen to Liverpool's game against West Ham at 15:00 GMT.
Then, for the late 17:30 GMT kick-off, Manchester City travel to Elland Road to face Leeds United.
Remember, you can also listen to coverage on BBC Sounds!
Bournemouth v Sunderland (12:30 GMT)
A run of three consecutive league defeats has seen Sunderland overtaken by Bournemouth, with the Black Cats also dropping out of the top half of the table.
The newly promoted club have been this season's surprise package and with 36 points on the board have probably already done enough to achieve their key objective – staying up.
The Wearsiders were hard to beat in the first half of the campaign but have not maintained that stubborn streak since the turn of the year, losing five Premier League fixtures in 2026 – one more than in 2025.
Image source, Getty ImagesBournemouth v Sunderland (12:30 GMT)
Image source, Getty ImagesBournemouth Manager Andoni Iraola, speaking to TNT Sports: "I think we've seen all this season, it's a difficult team to beat. I think they have good mixture of experienced players and young players. They've had a very good season but we want to win, especially at home.
On dropping Evanilson to the bench: "I think for this game we need a different midfield. I think we need to probably start with three in middle and have quality on ball. We also decided to have good options for the second half on the bench.
On ambitions in the table: "Every game is massive. There is no time to recover, the distance in the middle of the table is so small so one loss, one win makes a huge difference. We want to arrive at the massive magic 40 points as soon as possible and today we have our first chance."
Bournemouth v Sunderland (12:30 GMT)
Tom McCoy
BBC Sport journalist
Bournemouth have been one of the Premier League's streakiest sides this season. They ended October second in the table after losing just one of their first nine league fixtures but plummeted down the standings following an 11-match winless sequence.
However, despite selling star man Antoine Semenyo to Manchester City in January, the Cherries are staging a formidable third act. Andoni Iraola's team are one of the top flight's form sides right now and have avoided defeat in each of their past seven league games – only Manchester United are currently on a longer unbeaten run.
Victory on Saturday would take them seventh, for a few hours at least, and boost their hopes of qualifying for Europe for the first time in their history. An achievement of that scale would underline why Iraola is one of the game's most in-demand managers.
Bournemouth v Sunderland (12:30 GMT)
Regis Le Bris says it's important his side "impose their ideas" on this afternoon's game. The Sunderland boss acknowledges Bournemouth's good form and "specific characteristics" highlighting their intensity as a challenge the Black Cats must contend with today.
Listen to more of Le Bris' pre-match thoughts:
| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 | 18 | 7 | 3 | 56 | 21 | 35 | 61 |
| |
| 27 | 17 | 5 | 5 | 56 | 25 | 31 | 56 |
| |
| 28 | 15 | 6 | 7 | 38 | 30 | 8 | 51 |
| |
| 27 | 13 | 9 | 5 | 48 | 37 | 11 | 48 |
| |
| 27 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 48 | 31 | 17 | 45 |
| |
| 27 | 13 | 6 | 8 | 42 | 35 | 7 | 45 |
| |
| 27 | 12 | 4 | 11 | 40 | 37 | 3 | 40 |
| |
| 28 | 9 | 12 | 7 | 43 | 45 | -2 | 39 |
| |
| 27 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 29 | 31 | -2 | 37 |
| |
| 27 | 11 | 4 | 12 | 38 | 41 | -3 | 37 |
| |
| 28 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 28 | 33 | -5 | 37 |
| |
| 27 | 10 | 6 | 11 | 38 | 39 | -1 | 36 |
| |
| 27 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 29 | 32 | -3 | 35 |
| |
| 27 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 36 | 34 | 2 | 34 |
| |
| 27 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 37 | 46 | -9 | 31 |
| |
| 27 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 37 | 41 | -4 | 29 |
| |
| 27 | 7 | 6 | 14 | 25 | 39 | -14 | 27 |
| |
| 27 | 6 | 7 | 14 | 32 | 49 | -17 | 25 |
| |
| 27 | 4 | 7 | 16 | 29 | 52 | -23 | 19 |
| |
| 29 | 2 | 7 | 20 | 20 | 51 | -31 | 13 |
|
Manager:Andoni Iraola
Formation:4 - 2 - 3 - 1
Manager:Régis Le Bris
Formation:4 - 3 - 3
Manager:Andoni Iraola
Formation:4 - 2 - 3 - 1
Manager:Régis Le Bris
Formation:4 - 3 - 3
High chance of scoring
Medium chance of scoring
Low chance of scoring
Dominant period
Match momentum measures the swing of the match by comparing each team’s threat to see who is more likely to score within that minute. The momentum value is the difference between each team’s most dangerous moment, or team threat, in that minute.
Match momentum measures the swing of the match by comparing each team’s threat to see who is more likely to score within that minute. The momentum value is the difference between each team’s most dangerous moment, or team threat, in that minute.
| Minute | Team with most threat |
|---|---|
Kick off 1' | Sunderland |
2' | Sunderland |
3' | Sunderland |
Liverpool v West Ham. BBC Radio 5 Live.
Listen here at 15:00
Liverpool v West Ham. BBC Radio Merseyside.
Listen here at 15:00
Newcastle v Everton. BBC Radio Newcastle.
Listen here at 15:00
Sports Report. BBC Radio 5 Live.
Listen here at 17:00
Newcastle v Everton post-match reaction. BBC Radio Newcastle.
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Leeds v Man City. BBC Radio 5 Live.
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606 phone-in. BBC Radio 5 Live.
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Bournemouth have lost three of their four home league games against Sunderland, with the exception being a 2-0 victory in September 2015.
Following their 3-2 victory in November, Sunderland are looking to complete their second league double over Bournemouth, after the 1989-90 second tier campaign.
Only Manchester United (10) are on a longer run of unbeaten Premier League matches than Bournemouth (7 – W4 D3). Should they avoid defeat here, it’d be their second eight game unbeaten run in 2025-26, having gone 11 matches winless between these streaks.
Only Crystal Palace (4) and Newcastle (4) have had more 0-0 draws than Bournemouth (3) in the Premier League this season, with this their joint-most in a top-flight campaign (also 3 in 2015-16 and 2019-20). Despite this, the Cherries’ Premier League games have seen more goals than any other side this term (88 – F43 A45).
Sunderland have lost their last three Premier League games, as many as they had in their previous 12 (W4 D5). They last lost more consecutively in December 2015 (5).
Sunderland have 36 points in the Premier League this season, and an expected points total of just 27.2. Only Aston Villa (+17.2) have overperformed their expected points more than the Black Cats this term (8.8).
Only bottom two sides Burnley (10.6%) and Wolves (8.1%) have spent a lower share of their game time in a winning position than Sunderland (16.8%) in the Premier League this season.
Only Crystal Palace (38) have made fewer changes to their starting XI than Sunderland (40) in the Premier League this season, despite only four teams using more different players than the Black Cats (28).
Bournemouth’s Junior Kroupi has scored eight goals from just 26 shots in the Premier League this season, the best shot conversion rate of any player with 20+ attempts (31%).
Up to and including their 0-0 draw with Man City on New Year’s Day, Sunderland keeper Robin Roefs had the best goals prevented rate in the Premier League (4.7 – 17 goals conceded from 21.7 xGoT). Since then he’s conceded almost four more goals than expected (15 goals conceded from 11.4 xGoT), with only Guglielmo Vicario having a worse rate in that time (4.1, 18 conceded from 13.9 xGoT).
