Plenty of predictions have been made about Sunderland’s first season back in the Championship – but how do newly-promoted teams historically fare in their first seasons back? Richard Easterbrook crunches the numbers

Lee Johnson has once again called for investment in the Stadium of Light pitch, nine months on from the last mooted improvements. Richard Easterbrook discusses why this would not necessarily be a bad idea

We go back to October 2002 as Peter Reid won his last game as Sunderland manager in a Worthington Cup tie at Cambridge United

They’re playing in League One this weekend, but back in January 2001, Sunderland and Ipswich were duking it out at the top of the Premier League

We go back to 2003 as Mick McCarthy’s Sunderland face a potential banana skin at Mansfield Town

We go back 21 years, when Sunderland travelled to Sheffield Wednesday and came away with a 2-0 victory

We look back at a previous outing against Saturday’s opponents, when an opening day 3-1 home reverse to the Addicks spelled the beginning of the end of Bob Murray’s chairmanship on Wearside

Sunderland face Accrington Stanley this weekend in a top of the table clash – Richard Easterbrook previews the action

Sunderland’s start to the season has been largely encouraging with both Ross Stewart and Aiden O’Brien getting among the goals – let’s hope that we can maintain this momentum