Le Fee grateful for Sunderland support after penalty miss at Brentford

Enzo Le Fee has expressed his gratitude towards Sunderland’s fans for their support after he missed a penalty in their last Premier League match against Brentford.

The Black Cats had the chance to level the scoreline when 1-0 down versus the Bees, but Le Fee’s Panenka penalty was caught by Caoimhin Kelleher and Brentford went on to win 3-0.

However, the Frenchman atoned for his error last weekend, scoring a volley against Everton in the FA Cup and also holding his nerve to convert in a penalty shoot-out as Sunderland advanced on spot-kicks, following a 1-1 draw at Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Le Fee was pleased to bounce back from his miss as the Black Cats now prepare to host Crystal Palace in the league this week.

“That’s football,” said Le Fee. “Sometimes things don’t go your way, but you can’t hide. If you don’t try, you don’t succeed.

“Missing a penalty hurts, but failures are lessons, and you have to keep believing.

“I’ve felt a lot of support from the fans and I really appreciate it. The messages mean a lot, and they give you confidence. I’m grateful to everyone who has been behind me.”

Gym time pic.twitter.com/P7aLkeygnc

— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) January 14, 2026

Palace, meanwhile, saw their FA Cup title defence end at the first hurdle after they were knocked out by National League North side Macclesfield on Saturday.

Indeed, Macclesfield became the first non-league team to eliminate the FA Cup holders since Palace knocked out Wolves in the first round of the 1908-09 tournament.

After their humbling defeat, Eagles boss Oliver Glasner is determined to see his side respond at the Stadium of Light.

“Everybody is disappointed. Players are frustrated. We didn’t show up. We’re sorry for that. I hope you can understand it,” said Glasner when addressing the fans.

“You, the fans and we all, are really disappointed.

“We will make a few changes and we will start again next week. Thanks for your support.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Sunderland – Robin Roefs

Two of the top three goalkeepers in the Premier League this season for goals prevented could feature in this game.

Sunderland’s Roefs (5.1 – 21 goals conceded excluding own goals, 26.1 xGoT conceded) and Palace’s Dean Henderson (3.9 – 23 goals conceded, 26.9 xGoT conceded) have both impressed between the sticks this term.

Crystal Palace – Jean-Philippe Mateta

Mateta has scored eight Premier League goals this season. However, just one of those has come in his last eight appearances.

And only David Brooks (-3.41) has underperformed his xG by a greater margin in the competition this term than Mateta’s -3.21 (eight goals, 11.21 xG).

MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW

Sunderland remain unbeaten in their 10 Premier League home games this season (W5 D5); in English top-flight history, only seven newly promoted sides have had a longer unbeaten home start to a campaign, most recently Ipswich Town in 1992-93 (11 matches).

However, the away side has not lost any of the last eight Premier League meetings between Sunderland and Palace (W5 D3), since the Eagles’ 3-1 win at Selhurst Park in August 2013.

Palace are without a goal in their last two Premier League games; not since Patrick Vieira’s final four league games in charge, between February and March 2023, have the Eagles gone on a longer run in the competition without scoring.

After failing to score in just four of their first 14 Premier League games this season, Sunderland have since failed to score in four of their last seven matches. Since the start of December, the Black Cats have scored the fewest goals (four) and have the lowest xG total (6.6) in the division.

Over the last six Premier League matchdays, only West Ham (one) have earned fewer points than Palace (two – D2 L4); and on the road, they have lost their last two games. The Eagles last lost three in a row in February 2024 under Roy Hodgson.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Sunderland – 36.2%

Draw – 26.2%

Crystal Palace – 37.6%