It was a cagey half with barely a chance to speak of until just before the interval when an excellent Wolves move ended with Leo Bonatini unable to get a proper connection on Ivan Cavaleiro's cross.
Lewis Grabban's shot was collected comfortably by John Ruddy soon into the second half but then two quickfire bookings for Lee Cattermole saw the Sunderland midfielder dismissed.
From there Wolves enjoyed plenty of pressure but struggled to break through a resolute Sunderland defence, with several shots directed off target and a well-struck Ruben Neves effort saved by Robbin Ruiter.
The best efforts came in the closing stages as Ruiter beat away a fierce left foot drive from Diogo Jota and got down low to claim a similar effort from Cavaleiro.
