Meet the opposition | Sunderland
As Swansea City welcome Sunderland to the Swansea.com Stadium, we take a closer look at the Black Cats.
What’s their story?
Established in 1879, Sunderland were one of the founding members of the Football League in 1890.
They have been English champions on six occasions and victorious in the FA Cup twice, the most recent of those successes coming in 1973 when they produced one of the great shocks in the competition's history by beating Don Revie's Leeds United 1-0 at Wembley Stadium, whilst plying their trade in the second tier of the English pyramid.
After spending much of the current century occupying a place within the Premier League, recent times have seen Sunderland drop into League One for a four-year stint.
Play-off success under Alex Neil ended that spell in the third tier and saw them return to the Championship, where Tony Mowbray continued their upward trajectory, helping them reach the play-offs.
They tailed off at the end of last term, but have started the new campaign strongly.
How’s their form?
Good. The Black Cats have lost one of the previous 13 Championship following their midweek clash with Bristol City.
They will have been frustrated that seven of those games ended in draws, but they are firmly in the promotion picture as the festive period approaches.
Who’s the gaffer?
Regis Le Bris. The Frenchman was appointed Sunderland boss in the summer, and he could hardly have wished for a better start to his time on Wearside.
The 49-year-old was a defender during his playing days – and he was capped by France at youth level – as he featured for Rennes, Laval and Ronse before making the move into coaching.
He held youth coaching roles with Wasquehal and Rennes, leading the latter’s under-19s to a national Championship before joining Lorient in 2012.
There he guided the under-17s to championship success, while also helping bringing through the likes of Matteo Guendouzi and Illan Meslier.
Le Bris moved up to first-team level in 2022 and led Lorient to a top-10 finish in Ligue 1 before departing the club in the wake of relegation at the end of last term.
Who’s the captain?
Luke O'Nien was handed the armband last season having put pen to paper on a new long-term contract at the Stadium of Light.
The defender or defensive midfielder started his career in the youth ranks at Watford, making a solitary league appearance for the Hornets, while also having a short loan spell at Wealdstone.
He joined Wycombe after a successful trial in 2015, and went on to help the Chairboys secure promotion to League One.
He joined Sunderland at the conclusion of the 2017-18 season and has made over 280 appearances for the Black Cats.
O'Nien helped them secure promotion from League One and EFL Trophy success in 2022, and made the step up to Championship level with a number of assured displays.
Who are the key men?
Teenager Chris Rigg has been a revelation for the Black Cats since graduating to the senior ranks in January of 2023.
Rigg first joined the Academy of Light when in primary school and worked his way through the ranks to make his first-team debut in an FA Cup third-round tie against Shrewsbury Town.
At the time he was training with the first-team squad just a couple of days a week as he was still in school.
He went on to become the club’s youngest-ever goalscorer when netting against Crewe in the Carabao Cup at the start of the following season when aged just 16 years and 51 days. It also made him the youngest scorer in the League Cup’s history.
England age-grade international Rigg has shown maturity beyond his years and has become a Championship regular, adding to his fan favourite status with an audacious backheel finish against Middlesbrough earlier this season.
Elsewhere in the squad, Jobe Bellingham is forging a successful career of his own while brother Jude takes all the headlines with Real Madrid and England.
Like his sibling, Bellingham came through the academy ranks with Birmingham City and would make his senior debut when aged just 16 during the 2021-22 season.
A scholarship and a first professional deal followed and he made 22 league appearances in the 2022-23 campaign before making the move to Sunderland for an undisclosed fee.
He went on to make 47 appearances in all competitions in a challenging season for the Black Cats, and he has continued to showcase his maturity by being a central figure in their fine start to the season under Regis Le Bris. He has two goals and two assists so far this term.
Just back from injury, defender Dennis Cirkin is another young player who has played beyond his years for Sunderland.
The Dublin-born left-back moved to London as a child and joined the Tottenham Hotspur academy.
Cirkin never made a senior appearance for Spurs, and he joined Sunderland for an undisclosed fee in the summer of 2021 and quickly became a regular.
He helped the Black Cats to promotion in his first season, playing in all three games of their successful play-off campaign.
Cirkin helped the Wearsiders reach the Championship play-offs a year later, but missed the semi-final defeat to Luton through injury.
In total he has made 95 appearances in Sunderland colours.