West Ham United

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Sunderland and West Ham.

Here are some of your comments:

Sunderland fans

Colin: Outstanding performance by the lads in red and white. We needed to start on the front foot and boy did we do that. Great win and hoping to build on that.

Terry: The performance and the goals were just brilliant. You could see what it meant to the fans and the players by the pure passion displayed by every one in the stadium. I would have LOVED to have been there! Liked the comment by the commentator likening Dan Ballard's goal to Niall Quinn!

David: A truly emotional and memorable return to the Premier League for the club and fans, with hugely encouraging performances from all of the debutants resulting in an important win. A long way to go, of course, but on this evidence there could be a lot of people outside of Wearside eating humble pie come the end of the season.

Tom: It's an incredible time to be a Sunderland supporter. I'm very pleased to see the three goalscorers were players who got the club where they are now.

Russell: I've followed Sunderland since the 1973 cup final and this season is the most confident I've been about a good start for a long, long time.

Craig: Championship play-off semis: Sunderland won't win. Final: they won't win. Get promoted: Sunderland are coming straight back down. Proving the naysayers wrong is what we what we love to do! More please.

West Ham fans

Tom: If you have a bad season, look at what was wrong and fix it. Or, in our case, just ignore it and hope for the best. This result was as inevitable. Either Potter is a poor manager or he's just being handcuffed by poor owners. It's going to be VERY hard to find three worse teams than us this season. I don't think there are.

Michael: Trouble is with our midfield - there's no energy or bite in there. To be honest, if they could shake it up between now and when the window shuts, we'd be OK. Probably need to offload four or five players and get in four or five younger and hungrier ones.

Derek: For 60 minutes we looked OK and were really troubling Sunderland. Then, like a deck of cards, we folded. I have to question Freddie Potts not starting after playing every pre-season game. Our midfield must be the slowest in the league. This needs addressing asap and we also badly need a striker.

Adrian: Same old, same old. Don't look fit enough, don't look hungry enough. Might as well keep Potter's post-match interview and play it each week. Fans deserve better.

Colin: First half was fair - the rest of the game West Ham were rubbish. Last season all over again. It's a shame for the fans becaiuse we expected more from Potter and the squad.

Rob: We've started where we finished off last season. Can't say I expected anything else when a club I've supported for over 50 years doesn't back the manager with top-class signings that never happen year in, year out. Yet another stressful season for us Hammers fans!

Pundits Wayne Rooney and Alan Shearer join host Mark Chapman to bring you the action and talking points from Friday and Saturday's opening Premier League fixtures.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Sunderland 3-0 West Ham

• Tottenham 3-0 Burnley

• Wolves 0-4 Manchester City

Image source, Getty Images

• West Ham (902) became the fourth team to concede 900 away goals in the Premier League, after Everton (925), Spurs (922) and Newcastle (912), with the Hammers doing so in the fewest number of matches (556).

Matthew Howarth
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

West Ham underwhelmed under Graham Potter last season, but a solid pre-season - coupled with some astute signings - had raised hopes among Hammers fans of a more successful campaign under the former Brighton boss.

The visitors were calm in possession in the first half, with captain Jarrod Bowen at the heart of their most threatening attacks - but they lacked the composure in front of goal to match their diligence in the build-up.

Summer arrival El Hadji Malick Diouf was already turning away to celebrate after steering a firm, low shot towards the far corner shortly before the half-hour mark, but Dan Ballard produced a sensational clearance to thwart the summer signing.

West Ham faded towards the end of the first half, however, and once Eliezer Mayenda had opened the scoring for Sunderland after the interval they rarely looked like working their way back into the game.

Indeed, the closest they came to a second-half goal was when Sunderland's Wilson Isidor inadvertently diverted a Hammers free-kick towards his own net, with goalkeeper Robin Roefs producing a sensational stop to preserve his clean sheet.

Things could get worse for West Ham before they get better, with Chelsea visiting the London Stadium in their next match and games against Nottingham Forest and Tottenham before mid-September.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Sunderland's performance

What did you make of West Ham's display?

Come back to this page on Sunday to find a selection of your replies

Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris hands Premier League debuts to seven summer signings, as Granit Xhaka, Habib Diarra, Noah Sadiki, Reinildo Mandova, Chemsdine Talbi, Simon Adingra and goalkeeper Robin Roefs all starting.

Fellow new arrivals Enzo Le Fee, Marc Guiu, Omar Alderete are on the bench, but former Hammers defender Arthur Masuaku is not in the matchday squad.

Sunderland XI: Roefs, Hume, Seelt, Ballard, Reinaldo, Sadiki, Xhaka, Diarra, Talbi, Mayenda, Adingra

Subs: Patterson, Neil, Guiu, Roberts, Rigg, Alderete, Isidor, Le Fee, Jones

West Ham manager Graham Potter hands former Leicester goalkeeper Mads Hermansen his Hammers debut, with Alphonse Areola having to settle for a place on the bench.

El Hadji Malick Diouf also starts, while Kyle Walker-Peters and Callum Wilson are named among the substitutes.

West Ham XI: Hermansen, Todibo, Kilman, Aguerd, Wan-Bissaka, Rodriguez, Ward-Prowse, Diouf, Bowen, Paqueta, Fullkrug

Subs: Areola, Walker-Peters, Alvarez, Wilson, Mavropanos, Soucek, Scarles, Potts, Irving

Five matches make up Saturday's Premier League action and BBC Sport will bring you every kick.

• Aston Villa v Newcastle (12:30)

• Brighton v Fulham

• Sunderland v West Ham - BBC Radio 5 Live

• Tottenham v Burnley - BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Wolves v Manchester City (17:30) - BBC Radio 5 Live

All kick-off times 15:00 BST unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

Sunderland have made so many changes that they are unrecognisable from the team that won promotion last season.

I love their ambition but I'm not sure it will keep them up. A good start is vital to the promoted teams - and how quickly will they gel?

There are question marks over West Ham too. They were feeble at times under Graham Potter after he took charge halfway through last season and, while he could argue that wasn't his team, he cannot have the same excuse now.

This is a big season for Potter and I think it will start well. West Ham have got enough nous to deal with the atmosphere at the Stadium of Light and leave with three points.

Sutton's prediction: 0-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Matthew Hobbs
BBC Sport journalist

Sunderland begin their first Premier League campaign since 2017 at home to a West Ham United side hoping to improve following a mixed a start under Graham Potter. BBC Sport takes a look at some of the key themes before the opener.

Can Sunderland spring a surprise on top-flight return?

Sunderland return to the Premier League for the first time in eight years as the makings of a surprise package.

The newly promoted team have so far spent a net total of around £100m on transfers and although Jobe Bellingham has departed to the Bundesliga, 11 new arrivals have sparked hopes that rather than simply surviving, Sunderland may even prosper on their return to top-flight football.

Only Burnley have signed more players so far this summer and the Black Cats' new recruits may well take time to gel.

A crucial part of their transfer policy has been to attract players with Premier League experience: Sunderland began the summer transfer window with a squad totalling just 25 Premier League appearances, and only two starts, split between Simon Moore, Ian Poveda, Patrick Roberts, Leo Hjelde and Niall Huggins.

They have since signed Granit Xhaka, who made 225 Premier League appearances during his seven-year stint with Arsenal, along with Brighton winger Simon Adingra (60 Premier League appearances) and Chelsea forward Marc Guiu (three Premier League appearances).

Hammers aiming to improve after tough 2024-25

Sunderland face a West Ham side who underwhelmed following the arrival of Graham Potter last season. The Hammers averaged 1.11 points per game and a 28% win rate in Potter's 18 Premier League matches in charge in 2024-25, lower than predecessor Julen Lopetegui's 1.15 pts per game and 30% win rate last season.

Potter's West Ham also lagged behind in various metrics as his possession-based style of football struggled to take hold.

Potter 'happy' with transfer window

In contrast to the opening-day opponents, West Ham's transfer window has been a little quieter. Potter has said he is "very happy" with the club's business despite losing Mohammed Kudus to London rivals Tottenham for £55m.

The Irons have added experienced Southampton full-back Kyle Walker-Peters on a free transfer, along with Leicester City goalkeeper Mads Hermansen and Slavia Prague defender El Hadji Malick Diouf, while their search for goals has so far been pinned on the signing of free agent Callum Wilson following his departure from Newcastle.

It is a risk for an injury-prone player who turns 34 in February – Wilson managed only two Premier League starts last season and scored just once in 22 appearances in all competitions.

West Ham, though, have been boosted by the availability of key midfielder Lucas Paqueta, who escaped punishment after a spot-fixing investigation by the FA for alleged deliberate bookings was found to be unproven.

Since joining from Lyon for an initial £36.5m in August 2022, Paqueta tops the club's rankings for tackles, duels won, possession won and successful passes while only Jarrod Bowen has created more chances and provided a greater tally of assists.

Hanging on to the 55-cap Brazil international until the end of the transfer window could be West Ham's best business of the summer.

Image source, Getty Images

Let's have a look at who BBC Sport's TV and radio commentators have picked as the West Ham player that will be worth watching out for in the next few months.

El Hadji Malick Diouf

Age: 20 Position: Left-back or left wing-back Country: Senegal

Ian Dennis: There were a number of Senegal players who caught the eye when they beat England at the City Ground in June, but none more so than El Hadji Malick Diouf.

During my commentary for 5 Live that night, I'd mentioned interest from Brighton & Hove Albion, so I'm not surprised to see him in the Premier League, and West Ham have a real gem.

Diouf can play as a left-back or a wing-back, and has the ability to get up and down. He is a dynamic player with excellent crossing ability and somebody who will offer a real threat in an attacking sense.

He scored seven goals for Slavia Prague last season, and I think he will become a real crowd favourite at West Ham.

Read the full piece here

Image source, Getty Images

We have looked into the age profile of West Ham's players for the 2025-26 season and recorded what percentage of minutes each of them played last campaign.

For the purpose of this exercise, we have deemed those under 24 as youth, between 24 and 30 as in their peak years and anyone over 30 to be a veteran.

The green represents new signings, who naturally did not play, red are those that have since left the club and yellow are all those that remain.

We can see a lot of West Ham's groups sit in the peak age category for players from 24-30. The loss of Evan Ferguson and in the youthful category was softened by the recruitment of 20-year-old El Hadji Malick Diouf (pictured).

The squad looks well balanced from an age perspective, with a handful of young names and veterans.

The question is, will the Hammers be able to capitalise on the age of the group?