Sunderland have been the major success story of this Premier League season, and they’re now getting a far more friendly forecast from Opta’s supercomputer.

After earning a shock promotion via the Championship play-offs, it was not surprising for Sunderland to be tipped as relegation fodder before the Premier League campaign began.

The Black Cats spent heavily in the summer, with Regis Le Bris getting 15 new signings to drastically improve the quality of his squad.

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Five wins out of nine at the start of this season have seen the Mackems rise to fourth in the league table and relegation now seems unlikely for Sunderland. It’s safe to say, that was not the case just a few weeks ago, and Opta’s supercomputer has changed its tune quickly.

Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images

There is no denying Sunderland have been unbelievable so far this season, especially considering they had less time to prepare than any other team due to their play-off journey.

At the start of the season, Opta said the following about Sunderland’s chances: “Sunderland are the only team who do not win the Premier League title in any of the supercomputer’s 10,000...