Vitor Pereira needs a special team talk about worrying Sunderland stat ahead of Wolves

The return of Premier League action is almost upon us, and Vitor Pereira will surely be drilling his Wolves players about Sunderland’s biggest strength this season.

The upcoming clash between Wolves and Sunderland has a ‘cup final’ feel to it, with Wolves in desperate need of three points.

But it will take a significant effort to beat Regis de Bris’ newly promoted side, who have started the campaign with some fantastic results.

Wolves have a favourable record against Sunderland in the Premier League, but they go into Saturday’s clash as underdogs. If they are to get a result, they will need to avoid a Brighton repeat.

Dealing with Sunderland’s set-piece threat could be decisive

After seven games, Sunderland are ninth in the league standings, taking everyone by surprise.

But when you take out the 3-0 win over West Ham on opening day, it’s just four league goals in six outings.

They have been able to find results against opposition despite this, and a big reason has been their focus on set pieces.

A match fact issued by BBC Sport supports this claim. It states: “45% of Sunderland’s non-penalty expected goals tally in the Premier League this season has come from set-pieces (2.5 set-piece xG, 5.6 total) – this is the highest ratio of any side in 2025-26.”

Sunderland will try to find joy from dead-ball situations, as they have done all season. They will look at Wolves’ late collapse against Brighton — an 86th-minute free-kick goal — and take encouragement.

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The stat goes on to point out Wolves’ susceptibility to set plays: “Wolves, meanwhile, have faced 37% of their non-penalty xGA from set plays, the fourth-highest of any club.”

This should be the first thing Pereira mentions when giving his players their instructions for Saturday’s away trip.

Wolves should start aggressively against Sunderland

Of the seven goals scored by The Black Cats this season, only one has come in the first half. That’s a league-worst.

Wolves need to continue the trend of striking the first blow, as they have done in the last three league outings.

But this time, Pereira’s side need to hold their lead. In each of the last three, they failed to do so.

Saturday offers an opportunity to turn the mood at the club on its head. A win could propel Wolves from bottom spot and show fans that this is a team ready to fight for survival.

A loss, especially from a winning position, would only serve to reinforce the idea that Wolves are in danger of the drop.