Odion Ighalo's early goal gave Watford their third successive win and left Sunderland stuck in the bottom three.
Ighalo and Black Cats defender Sebastian Coates met Allan Nyom's low cross at the near post and diverted the ball past Costel Pantilimon.
Sunderland took time to find a response but dominated the second half.
Jermain Defoe and Jack Rodwell forced good saves from Heurelho Gomes but the Hornets hung on for a victory that moves them up to seventh in the table.
Ighalo continues prolific form
Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce spoke before the game about the importance of keeping Ighalo and his strike partner Troy Deeney quiet, but succeeded for only four minutes.
Quique Flores: 1-0 Watford win built on strong defence
That was as long as it took Ighalo to score his 10th goal of the season and his 26th in 2015 - more than any other player in the top four tiers of English football.
He helped cause more chaos in the Black Cats defence soon afterwards, with Jose Manuel Jurado firing against the post after Ighalo had wriggled past Sebastian Coates on the right.
The Nigerian striker could have added to his tally in the second half, twice wasting shooting chances after Watford launched quick counter-attacks.
Defoe cannot find a finish
Sunderland finished strongly, firing a succession of crosses into the Watford box and creating several second-half chances.
Sunderland fired in 24 crosses, from open play or corners, in the second half, but only four of them found a team-mate
The Black Cats were let down by a poor start that saw them fail to have a shot on target in the first half, with most of their efforts coming from distance and ending up well clear of the goal.
The introduction of fit-again striker Jermain Defoe made a difference with 18 minutes to go and he was behind most of their best moments, without finding the finish they needed.
Defoe put the ball in the net but saw it ruled out for offside, saw his deft flick fly inches wide and was denied by a brilliant finger-tip stop by Gomes after finding space inside the box.
Man of the match - Watford's Heurelho Gomes
Watford goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes was a spectator in the first half but made a series of key saves after the break to protect the Hornets' lead and secure three points with his seventh clean sheet of the season
Manager reaction
Watford head coach Quique Flores: "We started really well and for the first 25 minutes we did well with the ball and created several chances.
"Towards the end we had to defend well and we showed everyone that we can fight too.
"It was very satisfying to see - everyone has talked a lot about the strikers but what we do when we don't have the ball is important too."
Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce: "It was just the beginning of the game that was the poor bit and, because of that, we lost a game we shouldn't have done.
Sunderland 0-1 Watford: Sam Allardyce unhappy with loss
"Some of the chances we created and missed in the second half were a big problem for us. I look at the chances in the last 15 or 20 minutes and I am a little bit dumbfounded why we haven't at least got one point on the board.
"If we had won it would have made such a huge difference but now we are back in the pressure pot, which is really disappointing with the games we have coming up."
What next?
Sunderland go to Stamford Bridge to play defending champions Chelsea, at the start of a difficult spell that sees them face Manchester City and Liverpool either side of Christmas.
Watford host Liverpool in their next match, and also face Chelsea, Tottenham and City over the festive period.
The stats you need to know
- Odion Ighalo has now scored the most goals by a Watford player in Premier League history (10).
- The last players to score 10+ goals in a top-flight season for Watford were Mark Falco (14), Luther Blissett (11) & John Barnes (10) in 1986-87.
- Ighalo (26) and Deeney (17) have scored 43 goals combined in league football in 2015; 11 more than Sunderland have overall this year (32).
- Sunderland have conceded a league high five goals in the first 15 minutes of Premier League action.
- Only Jamie Vardy (6) has scored the opening goal of a Premier League game more often than Odion Ighalo (5) this season.
- John O'Shea became the third Republic of Ireland player to reach 400 Premier League appearances after Shay Given (443) & Richard Dunne (431).
Lineup, Bookings (1) & Substitutions (5)
Sunderland
- 01 Pantilimon
- 24 Yedlin (Rodwell - 19' Booked )
- 22 Coates
- 16 O'Shea
- 02 Jones
- 03 van Aanholt
- 09 Borini (Johnson - 57' )
- 20 Toivonen
- 21 M'Vila
- 41 Watmore
- 26 Fletcher (Defoe - 72' )
Substitutes
- 08 Rodwell
- 11 Johnson
- 12 Matthews
- 17 Lens
- 18 Defoe
- 19 Graham
- 25 Mannone
Watford
- 01 Gomes
- 02 Nyom
- 15 Cathcart
- 03 Britos
- 16 Aké
- 29 Capoue
- 23 Watson
- 22 Abdi (Guédioura - 69' )
- 09 Deeney
- 07 Jurado (Anya - 76' )
- 24 Ighalo
Substitutes
- 10 Oularé
- 14 Paredes
- 17 Guédioura
- 20 Berghuis
- 21 Anya
- 32 Diamanti
- 34 Arlauskis
Match Stats
Live Text Commentary
Full Time Match ends, Sunderland 0, Watford 1.
90:00 +3:08 Full timeFull Time Second Half ends, Sunderland 0, Watford 1.
90:00 +2:46Attempt saved. Odion Ighalo (Watford) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Troy Deeney.
89:56Corner, Watford. Conceded by John O'Shea.
89:40Attempt blocked. Troy Deeney (Watford) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Etienne Capoue.
88:19Attempt missed. Adam Johnson (Sunderland) left footed shot from a difficult angle on the left misses to the right. Assisted by Duncan Watmore with a headed pass.
87:14Attempt saved. Adlène Guédioura (Watford) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Ikechi Anya.
86:38Ben Watson (Watford) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
86:38Dangerous play by Jack Rodwell (Sunderland).
85:44Foul by Nathan Aké (Watford).
85:44Jermain Defoe (Sunderland) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
83:31Attempt missed. Jermain Defoe (Sunderland) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Patrick van Aanholt with a cross.
82:20Attempt blocked. Odion Ighalo (Watford) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Etienne Capoue with a headed pass.
81:34Corner, Sunderland. Conceded by Etienne Capoue.
81:06Corner, Sunderland. Conceded by Heurelho Gomes.
80:55Attempt saved. Jermain Defoe (Sunderland) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Jack Rodwell.
80:34Attempt saved. Odion Ighalo (Watford) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Nathan Aké.
78:52Troy Deeney (Watford) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
78:52Foul by John O'Shea (Sunderland).
76:50Attempt missed. Duncan Watmore (Sunderland) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Jack Rodwell.
Foul by Adlène Guédioura (Watford).
76:20Yann M'Vila (Sunderland) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
75:28 SubstitutionSubstitution Substitution, Watford. Ikechi Anya replaces Jurado.
74:30Offside, Sunderland. Adam Johnson tries a through ball, but Jermain Defoe is caught offside.
71:28Offside, Sunderland. Patrick van Aanholt tries a through ball, but Duncan Watmore is caught offside.
71:03 SubstitutionSubstitution Substitution, Sunderland. Jermain Defoe replaces Steven Fletcher.
69:26Foul by Adlène Guédioura (Watford).
69:26Duncan Watmore (Sunderland) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
68:37Corner, Watford. Conceded by Patrick van Aanholt.
68:10 SubstitutionSubstitution Substitution, Watford. Adlène Guédioura replaces Almen Abdi.
65:59Corner, Sunderland. Conceded by Ben Watson.
64:50Attempt missed. Jack Rodwell (Sunderland) right footed shot from the centre of the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Duncan Watmore.
60:30Foul by Troy Deeney (Watford).
60:30Billy Jones (Sunderland) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
59:12 BookingBooking Jack Rodwell (Sunderland) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
59:09Ben Watson (Watford) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
59:09Foul by Jack Rodwell (Sunderland).
57:52Corner, Sunderland. Conceded by Nathan Aké.
56:35 SubstitutionSubstitution Substitution, Sunderland. Adam Johnson replaces Fabio Borini.
55:54Attempt missed. Jack Rodwell (Sunderland) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left.
52:37Ben Watson (Watford) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
52:37Foul by Ola Toivonen (Sunderland).
51:45Attempt saved. Jack Rodwell (Sunderland) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Steven Fletcher.
51:00Corner, Sunderland. Conceded by Craig Cathcart.
50:58Attempt blocked. Steven Fletcher (Sunderland) left footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked.
49:07Foul by Etienne Capoue (Watford).
49:07Billy Jones (Sunderland) wins a free kick on the right wing.
47:50Offside, Watford. Nyom tries a through ball, but Odion Ighalo is caught offside.
46:23Attempt missed. Patrick van Aanholt (Sunderland) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. Assisted by Jack Rodwell.
45:00Second Half begins Sunderland 0, Watford 1.
45:00 +1:10 Half timeHalf Time First Half ends, Sunderland 0, Watford 1.
45:00 +0:57Attempt missed. Troy Deeney (Watford) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Jurado.
44:39Jurado (Watford) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
44:39Foul by Yann M'Vila (Sunderland).
43:46Attempt missed. Ola Toivonen (Sunderland) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Billy Jones with a cross.
43:02Corner, Sunderland. Conceded by Heurelho Gomes.
42:30Foul by Nyom (Watford).
42:30Duncan Watmore (Sunderland) wins a free kick on the left wing.
37:37Foul by Almen Abdi (Watford).
37:37John O'Shea (Sunderland) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
35:40Attempt missed. Fabio Borini (Sunderland) right footed shot from the right side of the box misses to the right following a corner.
34:57Corner, Sunderland. Conceded by Nathan Aké.
29:05Attempt missed. Jack Rodwell (Sunderland) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left.
25:23Attempt saved. Etienne Capoue (Watford) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Almen Abdi.
19:37Foul by Odion Ighalo (Watford).
19:37Yann M'Vila (Sunderland) wins a free kick on the right wing.
18:31 SubstitutionSubstitution Substitution, Sunderland. Jack Rodwell replaces DeAndre Yedlin.
16:24Attempt missed. Fabio Borini (Sunderland) right footed shot from the right side of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Yann M'Vila.
13:59Attempt missed. Billy Jones (Sunderland) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. Assisted by Patrick van Aanholt.
13:27Foul by Etienne Capoue (Watford).
13:27Steven Fletcher (Sunderland) wins a free kick on the left wing.
12:15Offside, Watford. Ben Watson tries a through ball, but Troy Deeney is caught offside.
10:44Jurado (Watford) hits the left post with a right footed shot from the centre of the box. Assisted by Almen Abdi.
10:43Attempt saved. Almen Abdi (Watford) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Troy Deeney.
10:40Attempt blocked. Odion Ighalo (Watford) left footed shot from the right side of the six yard box is blocked.
10:38Attempt saved. Odion Ighalo (Watford) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Troy Deeney.
8:09Corner, Watford. Conceded by John O'Shea.
8:08Attempt blocked. Almen Abdi (Watford) right footed shot from the right side of the six yard box is blocked. Assisted by Nathan Aké with a cross.
6:56Corner, Sunderland. Conceded by Almen Abdi.
5:38Offside, Sunderland. Fabio Borini tries a through ball, but Steven Fletcher is caught offside.
3:38 Goal scoredGoal! Goal! Sunderland 0, Watford 1. Odion Ighalo (Watford) right footed shot from the right side of the six yard box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Nyom with a cross.
2:13Foul by John O'Shea (Sunderland).
2:13Troy Deeney (Watford) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
0:00First Half begins.
0:00Lineups are announced and players are warming up.
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