‘Belief’ Central to Sunderland’s Season, Says Le Bris
Sunderland manager Regis Le Bris has highlighted his team’s “belief” as a crucial factor in their successful season so far. The Black Cats currently sit eighth in the Premier League, tied on points with seventh-ranked Brentford, who they will encounter at the Gtech Community Stadium on Wednesday. Sunderland remained four points shy of the Champions League spots after they came from behind to secure a 1-1 draw against Tottenham during the weekend, thanks to a powerful goal from Brian Brobbey. They have also staged comebacks from a goal down to defeat Chelsea and earn a draw against Arsenal in the 2025-26 season. Le Bris commended his team’s determination and the contributions of their substitutes following the draw with Spurs. “It’s a matter of belief,” said Le Bris.
Granit Xhaka, Sunderland AFC Captain. pic.twitter.com/MVmjrlQyeF
— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) January 5, 2026
“When you can turn a game around like that, it instills confidence for the future because you know you can replicate that. We’ve demonstrated many times that it’s achievable, and that belief is consistently in our minds. The bench supported us yet again because we require our finishers. Occasionally, we need one, two, or three, and their influence was significant.”
Brentford remains unbeaten in their last five league matches after securing a 4-2 victory over Everton on Sunday. Igor Thiago netted a hat-trick during the triumph at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, marking his first goals in the league since a win against Burnley at the close of November. “It’s a wonderful feeling,” remarked the Brazilian forward. “I’m pleased with my performance and to have gained the three points from a challenging match. Everyone is backing me, everyone has belief in me, so I am grateful to my teammates, the staff, and the fans too. It signifies a lot to me. It shows that the fans (support) me, they believe in me, they trust me, and they encourage me, so it brings me great joy when they chant my name and when they uplift me.”
Good Morning pic.twitter.com/Hwb1Fprmrn
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) January 5, 2026
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Brentford – Igor Thiago
Thiago has netted 14 Premier League goals this season for Brentford, just one shy of the record for the most goals by a Brazilian player in a single campaign in the competition (15). This record was previously achieved by three players: Roberto Firmino in 2017-18, Gabriel Martinelli in 2022-23, and Matheus Cunha in 2024-25.
Sunderland – Brian Brobbey
In addition to his goals against Arsenal and Bournemouth earlier in the season, Brobbey has now recorded three goals in the Premier League. The 23-year-old is merely one goal short of matching his Eredivisie total from 2024-25, when he found the net four times in 30 appearances.
MATCH PREDICTION – BRENTFORD WIN
This marks just the second occasion Brentford has hosted Sunderland in a league match during the 21st century, following a 3-3 draw in the Championship in October 2017. Brentford has accumulated 34 points from a possible 39 at home against promoted teams in the Premier League (W11 D1 L1). The only exceptions were a 2-1 defeat to Norwich City in November 2021 and a 1-1 stalemate with Leeds United last month. Additionally, Brentford has triumphed in six of their 10 home Premier League encounters this season (D3 L1) under new manager Keith Andrews. This represents the highest number of victories by a Bees manager in his first 10 home league fixtures since Mark Warburton won nine of his first 10 in 2013-14 in League One. After their 2-1 victory at the Stadium of Light back in August, Sunderland hopes to achieve their first league double over Brentford since the 1987-88 season in the third tier. However, it is noteworthy that Sunderland has drawn in their last four Premier League matches, and they could become the first club to record five consecutive draws in the competition since Fulham did so from December 2020 to January 2021.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Brentford – 57.6%
Draw – 22%
Sunderland – 20.4%
Published: 2026-01-05 23:30:00
source: www.soccernews.com
