Sunderland are at Turf Moor on Friday night. It’s a new stadium for Regis Le Bris and yet another crunch match early on in this new calendar year, with both sides currently sitting in the Championship’s top four.
Sunderland’s started 2025 with a bang, beating Sheffield United 2-1 at the Stadium of Light before then hosting and beating strugglers Portsmouth 1-0.
Since, Regis Le Bris’ side have been knocked out of the FA Cup. But all is well with fans excited to see new signing Enzo Le Fee in action, and equally excited about what transfer business could come in the next few days.
There are widespread reports that Sunderland want to sign Tom Cannon. He’s a target for several in the Championship right now, including Burnley who are thought to be taking a look at the Leicester City man as well.
But the Clarets may announce the signing of someone else before the visit of Sunderland on Friday night. And it’s someone who’d certainly want to get one over the Black Cats.
Jonjo Shelvey training with Burnley ahead of Sunderland clash
Former Newcastle United midfielder Jonjo Shelvey has been training with Burnley of late. The 32-year-old is a free agent after leaving Turkish outfit Eyüpspor at the start of January, having only joined them in the summer of 2024.
Speaking to Burnley Express on Thursday, Burnley boss Scott Parker was asked about the situation regarding Shelvey. He said: “He’s still training at the moment, yes. He’s been with us now for a couple of days now, three or four days training with us. We decided to bring Jonjo in, we understand his quality and just wanted to have a closer look.
“We’ve not made a decision yet and we’ll have those conversations in the coming days with Jonjo on how I see things and where he sits with it as well really.”
It looks unlikely that Burnley will make a decision on Shelvey before the Sunderland game, so it’s unlikely that he’ll be involved. But he could be in the stands watching his potential next employers.
- READ MORE: £2m Sunderland target deliberately left out of squad amid reports he’s agreed deal to leave
Burnley vs Sunderland score prediction shared
All eyes will be on Burnley and Sunderland on Friday night. It’s built up to be an enthralling clash at the top of the Championship table and there’s so much on the line for both the winning and losing team.
Speaking ahead of the weekend, Sam Parkin gave his Burnley vs Sunderland score prediction. But he thinks the Clarets will win this one, saying: “I don’t think I can change my feelings towards Burnley overnight. Maybe by the end of the transfer window they’ll start scoring more goals.
“They’ve built on those foundations under Scott Parker since Sunderland got the 1-0 win earlier this season at the Stadium of Light, but that was when he wasn’t sure what his squad looked like. So I’m going to flip it and say a boring 1-0 to Burnley.”
Back in August, Sunderland beat Burnley 1-0 on Wearside, with Romaine Mundle scoring the only goal of the game.