Everything that could go wrong did go wrong for the Red Devils, with captain Bruno Fernandes missing a penalty to cap off an awful afternoon in west London.
The one positive from the day was that new striker Benjamin Sesko finally got off the mark for his new club, notching a consolation.
As for Sunderland, Regis Le Bris’ side have harnessed their promotion momentum to move up to fifth in the Premier League table.
The Black Cats invested heavily over the summer, bringing in known quantities off the continent, with the likes of Lutsharel Geetruida and Nordi Mukiele in defence, and Brian Brobbey from Ajax to add to Wilson Isidor and Elizer Mayenda up front.
Omar Alderete, another new signing, popped up with the winner to stun Ange Postecoglou’s Nottingham Forest at the City Ground last time out, and Sunderland are unbeaten since their 2-0 loss to fellow promoted side Burnley back in August.
Date, kick-off time and venue
Man United vs Sunderland is scheduled for a 3pm BST kick off on Saturday October 4, 2025.
The match will take place at Old Trafford.
Where to watch Arsenal vs West Ham
TV channel and live stream: This game is not available to watch or stream live in the UK.
Live blog: You can, however, keep up with all the updates on Standard Sport’s live blog.
Man Utd vs Sunderland team news
For United, there are two injury concerns for Amorim, and they both come at the back.
Noussair Mazraoui is the big one, with his thigh injury ruling him out until the international break.
His former Ajax team-mate Lisandro Martinez is still completing his recovery from an ACL problem.
As for returners, Casemiro missed the Brentford debacle after his red card during the win over Chelsea, and he could return to action here.
Amad Diallo, a former Sunderland loanee, could also return to the fold against his old club after he was given compassionate leave for a family grievance.
For Sunderland, there are a number of absentees, and most of them come in the defensive third of the field.
Dennis Cirkin is nursing a wrist injury, Leo Hjelde is struggling with an Achilles problem, while Reinildo is suspended after his red card against Aston Villa.
Aji Alese, however, could be close to a return in this game from a shoulder injury.
Romaine Mundle and Habib Diarra are both out until the international break at least with a thigh and groin injury respectively.
Man Utd vs Sunderland prediction
This would usually be a game that most United fans would look at and expect to win, but Sunderland have proven to be a surprise package in the early exchanges of the campaign.
The Black Cats have shown that they can score goals too, with Mayenda and Isidor both opening their top-flight accounts already this term.
Combine that with the creativity of Enzo Le Fee, Chris Rigg, and Chemsdine Talbi, and that very quickly poses problems for United’s leaky defence.
That said, Amorim has his first-choice attacking trio available to him, with new arrivals Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha likely to slot in behind Sesko, while captain Fernandes will be keen to make amends for his miss from 12 yards last weekend.
