Sunderland
A Statement Return: Sunderland Beat West Ham 3-0 at the Stadium of Light
Sunderland returned to the Premier League, beating West Ham 3-0 at the Stadium of Light opening day.
Sunderland marked their return to the Premier League with a commanding 3-0 win over West Ham at the Stadium of Light. The victory arrived in a second-half surge that settled any early nerves after a competitive first half in which West Ham applied pressure.
Eliezer Mayenda opened the scoring just past the hour mark with Sunderland’s first topflight goal in eight years. His headed finish into the top left-hand corner restored momentum for the hosts and changed the tone of the match.
Twelve minutes later Dan Ballard, the Championship semi-final hero, extended the lead with a towering header at the far post, a moment that prompted a roar from the crowd behind the net and placed Sunderland firmly in control.
West Ham pushed for a route back into the game and created a number of decent chances, but the Sunderland defence remained composed and disciplined, holding the line as the match entered its closing stages.
In stoppage time Wilson Isidor added a third, a strike from just outside the box that found the bottom left of the net and passed the keeper, sealing an emphatic opening-day result. The late goal underlined Sunderland’s commitment to their promotion slogan and the spirit the side brought to the fixture, fighting “till the end,” as the phrase has been used throughout their campaign.
The result was an emphatic and unexpected return to the top flight for Sunderland against an established Premier League opponent. The scoreline, produced by three well-taken goals, left little doubt about the hosts’ performance on the night and gave supporters a memorable welcome back at the Stadium of Light.
THE LINEUPS
SUN: Roefs; Hume, Ballard, Seelt, Reinildo; Diarra, Xhaka, Sadiki; Talbi, Mayenda, Adingra
Arsenal
Premier League valuations ranked: a financial snapshot of every club
Valuations reveal the Premier League’s financial pecking order, from richest giants to modest clubs.
The Premier League’s financial hierarchy is on clear display in a new set of valuations that ranks every club by estimated worth. As Giorgio Chiellini observed: “The real Super League is the Premier League now.” That sentiment underpins the scale and disparity these figures expose.
At the top end the big five values are striking. Manchester City are estimated at £4–4.4 billion, Liverpool at £3.9–4.3 billion, Arsenal at £3.2–3.5 billion and Tottenham at £2.9–3.2 billion. Chelsea’s valuation stands at £2.5–2.7 billion following BlueCo’s purchase three-and-a-half years earlier, a period during which owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital have invested heavily. “You keep digging, digging, digging and you have to be digging because one day the gold is going to be there,” Mikel Arteta warned ahead of the 2025–26 campaign.
Just below that tier are clubs with significant financial clout: West Ham at £710–780 million, Newcastle at £700–770 million and Aston Villa at £660–730 million. Brighton are estimated at £610–670 million.
The middle of the table features Fulham (£560–620 million), Everton and Leeds (both £500–550 million), Crystal Palace (£440–480 million) and a shared bracket for Brentford and Nottingham Forest (£340–380 million).
At the lower end, Sunderland sit at £320–350 million after a heavy summer spend has propelled them above their modest valuation. Wolves are valued at £280–310 million, Bournemouth at £270–300 million and Burnley at £200–220 million. Jeff Shi’s comment—“We don’t gamble, we never gamble and we know our limitations”—was made shortly before he stepped down as Wolves’ executive chairman.
The valuations underline contrasts between market weight and on-field performance. As Thomas Frank put it: “Yes, we are a Champions League club, but are we a Champions League club?” He added context: “We only qualified because we won the Europa League. We didn’t qualify because we were one of the four or five best clubs in the Premier League last season. We finished 17th.”
Across the list the message is consistent: size of valuation does not guarantee results, and ownership strategies, recruitment and recent spending continue to define where clubs sit in the Premier League pecking order.
Arsenal
FPL Gameweek 18: Goalkeepers, Bargains and Must-Haves for the Deadline
FPL GW18 picks and deadline details: goalkeeper sleeper plays, budget forwards and premium options..
The Boxing Day sequence leaves Fantasy Premier League managers choosing carefully ahead of Gameweek 18. Several goalkeeper and outfield options stand out given the fixtures and recent form.
Alisson Becker (£5.4m) remains a contender despite Liverpool not keeping many clean sheets this season; Wolverhampton Wanderers have scored only nine times in 19 games. Caoimhín Kelleher (£4.5m) is an alternative after Bournemouth were held by Everton and Chelsea earlier this month, and Burnley conceded just once in their most recent match. Bernd Leno (£4.9m) is an attractive differential for Fulham at home against West Ham United.
Joško Gvardiol (£6.0m) is recommended as Manchester City aim to extend a run of successive clean sheets against Nottingham Forest, and his attacking output offers additional upside. James Tarkowski (£5.5m) could provide value for Everton against Burnley, who are among the lowest scorers in the division. Piero Hincapié (£5.5m) has been collecting points in Gabriel’s absence and should feature this week.
On the attacking side, Morgan Rogers (£7.2m) is under-selected by FPL managers and could offer an edge given his role in a high-performing team. Mason Mount (£5.9m) is a budget midfield option to consider while Bruno Fernandes will miss out on Boxing Day through injury, placing creative responsibility elsewhere. Anthony Gordon (£7.3m) arrives off recent double-figure hauls for Newcastle United and poses a direct threat to Manchester United.
Erling Haaland (£15.1m) remains the premium forward for many squads, having scored almost half of his team’s goals and ranking behind only Phil Foden for current form; 74.1% of FPL players own him. Hugo Ekitiké (£8.9m) has been scoring regularly and benefits from Alexander Isak being out injured. Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£5.8m) is the budget forward option after 22 points across the last two gameweeks and a favourable match-up with Sunderland.
The GW18 deadline for FPL is at 6:30 p.m. GMT (1:30 p.m. ET, 1.:30 a.m. PT) on Friday, Dec. 26.
Premier League
Every Premier League player selected for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations
Complete list of Premier League players called to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. Details
The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco will feature 24 nations across a month-long tournament. Several Premier League clubs will lose players during the congested winter schedule; others will be unaffected.
Six clubs avoid any absences: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Bournemouth, Leeds United and Newcastle United have no players called to AFCON. Sunderland are the most affected Premier League side, sending six players to Morocco, twice the number of the next-most impacted clubs.
Manchester United, Fulham and Burnley each have three players away for the tournament. Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City will each be without two players. Liverpool have a single absentee: Mohamed Salah of Egypt.
Full list by club:
Arsenal: none
Aston Villa: none
Bournemouth: none
Brentford: Dango Ouattara (Burkina Faso), Frank Onyeka (Nigeria)
Brighton & Hove Albion: Carlos Baleba (Cameroon)
Burnley: Axel Tuanzebe (DR Congo), Lyle Foster (South Africa), Hannibal Mejbri (Tunisia)
Chelsea: none
Crystal Palace: Ismaïla Sarr (Senegal)
Everton: Idrissa Gueye (Senegal), Iliman Ndiaye (Senegal)
Fulham: Calvin Bassey (Nigeria), Alex Iwobi (Nigeria), Samuel Chukwueze (Nigeria)
Leeds United: none
Liverpool: Mohamed Salah (Egypt)
Manchester City: Rayan Aït-Nouri (Algeria), Omar Marmoush (Egypt)
Manchester United: Bryan Mbeumo (Cameroon), Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast), Noussair Mazraoui (Morocco)
Newcastle United: none
Nottingham Forest: Willy Boly (Ivory Coast), Ibrahim Sangaré (Ivory Coast)
Sunderland: Bertrand Traoré (Burkina Faso), Arthur Masuaka (DR Congo), Noah Sadiki (DR Congo), Chemsdine Talbi (Morocco), Reinildo (Mozambique), Habib Diarra (Senegal)
Tottenham Hotspur: Yves Bissouma (Mali), Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal)
West Ham United: Aaron Wan-Bissaka (DR Congo), El Hadji Malick Diouf (Senegal)
Wolverhampton Wanderers: Emmanuel Agbadou (Ivory Coast), Tawanda Chirewa (Zimbabwe)
Additional squad notes from the Premier League: a long-term injury to Yoane Wissa has ruled him out of DR Congo selection and he will instead train with Newcastle over the winter. Simon Adingra was omitted from the Ivory Coast squad. Nigeria did not select Nottingham Forest right back Ola Aina and Wolverhampton striker Tolu Arokodare, the former due to injury. Ghana’s failure to qualify means Antoine Semenyo and Mohammed Kudus will not be competing.
