Sunderland head to San Siro in Europa League while languishing at bottom of Premier League after Coventry defeat

Sunderland will travel to the San Siro to face AC Milan in the Europa League on 10 December, yet the club find themselves bottom of the Premier League after a 3-1 defeat by Coventry City on Saturday and have lost six of their nine league games.

Last season's surprise package following promotion, Sunderland secured a Europa League group-stage draw that confirmed a visit to Milan, but their form in the domestic league has deteriorated since then; the last Premier League victory came against Fulham on 30 August, two days after the Europa League league phase draw was confirmed. While they are competing in Europe, the club are also negotiating a relegation battle at home and have not won a league match since that late-August success.

Including an opening-weekend defeat by Ipswich, Sunderland have suffered six defeats and recorded two draws in their nine Premier League fixtures. After the Coventry loss, captain Granit Xhaka said: "Very disappointed," and added, "We are not doing the things that we have been speaking about; we are not doing the things that we are doing in training. Again, so many mistakes. We have no chance to win any games like this."

In the Europa League, Sunderland sit ninth in their group on goal difference, with two wins and a draw from three games and only two goals conceded across those ties. In domestic cup competition they beat Brentford 3-2 in midweek to set up a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Crystal Palace, but they have managed just one point from the three Premier League matches that followed their European outings this season.

Manager Regis le Bris defended the squad's situation while warning about the demands of a congested schedule: "They [the players] own the reality of the club, this dynamic, we are growing fast," he said, adding, "We are exposed this season with this busy schedule. It's really demanding." He continued: "Is it unexpected? I don't think so. Many clubs last year experienced exactly the same situation. First year in Europe, you know you will have on average 10 less points. It's our reality." The club face a run of league fixtures — Chelsea (home), Aston Villa (away), Tottenham (home), Liverpool (away) and Newcastle (away) — before the trip to Milan, with home European matches against Dinamo Zagreb and Jagiellonia Bialystok also to be played.

Defensive frailties have been stark: last season Sunderland finished with the fourth meanest back line in the Premier League, with only Arsenal, Manchester City and Brighton conceding fewer goals, but this term only Ipswich Town and Crystal Palace have let in more than Sunderland. After nine games last term they had conceded seven; this season they have conceded 17 in nine matches — a total it took 15 games to reach last season — and the club have made seven errors that led to goals, with Coventry's opening two stemming from a failure to deal with a cross and Luke O'Nien losing possession to Taiwo Awoniyi in the build-up to the second. On BBC's Match of the Day Le Bris said: "Bad result. Ups and downs, I think, is the summary of this game and the season so far. We can play good football, and create some good chances, but we also made many unforced errors. At this level, especially in the Premier League, the opponent can seize every single opportunity, and [Coventry] did that. It's not a question of luck, it's a question of us."

Sunderland's attacking output has also dipped: they have scored seven goals in nine league matches, with only Nottingham Forest on six having scored fewer. The club have been without defender Dan Ballard, who has been out with a hamstring injury since September's international break. Reflecting on last season's attacking metrics, the article notes that "Only relegated Burnley and Wolves had a lower xG difference than Le Bris' side last season. Only three teams - Crystal Palace, Burnley and Wolves - scored fewer than their 42 goals as well, as Sunderland finished with a negative goal difference."

Sunderland travel to AC Milan on 10 December and have a Premier League match against Nottingham Forest scheduled three days later, a sequence the club and supporters have identified as creating a challenging fixture turnaround that could affect their domestic standing.