Sunderland vs Aston Villa – Preview, Lineups, Where To Watch | OneFootball

Sunderland and Aston Villa will lock horns at the Stadium of Light in a Premier League clash that both sides will know the importance of winning, despite the season still being in its early days.

Football is a great leveller, the old adage goes, and the promoted teams are proving to be a great advert for the Championship, bucking the trend over the past few seasons of them being hapless relegation fodder.

Sunderland have been the best on show amongst them and will fancy their chances against an Aston Villa side that are yet to score in the Premier League, something that has raised some alarm.

The Black Cats have beaten West Ham and Brentford at home and earned a creditable draw away to Crystal Palace with their only defeat coming away to Burnley, their Championship adversaries last season, notwithstanding their penalty loss in the EFL Cup to Huddersfield Town.

Regis Le Bris’ men have scored five goals from just nine shots on target in the Premier League this season, with only Arsenal’s 64 per cent conversion rate higher than the Black Cats 56 per cent, and it remains to be seen if this is sustainable over the course of a season. Le Bris though has delighted at having another striker in the shape of Brian Brobbey.

Sunderland will be seeking to extend their winning record at home and sitting on two wins at present, a victory will entail matching a streak they last achieved in the 1965/66 season; it will also be a record last achieved by a promoted team sixteen years ago, with Burnley managing the feat in 2009/10.

Speaking of levellers, Aston Villa’s season so far has been as stark as possible in contrast with their preceding campaign.

They missed out on goal difference to Newcastle United for a Champions League spot last season, after looking stronger than Manchester City and Chelsea, who finished third and fourth respectively, for large stretches of the season.

Unai Emery might have watched Marcus Rashford, on loan at Aston Villa last season, dispatch Newcastle with a brace on Thursday evening, and wondered what might have been.

The Spaniard, though, will not have allowed himself too much time for self-pity, as he plots to break their goalscoring duck in the Premier League and get back his bright and bubbly disposition from last season.

Harvey Elliott’s first goal for the Villans, which was also the club’s first goal for the season, came in a futile manner as Brentford prevailed on penalties in the EFL Cup on Wednesday.

Emery will take heart from the goal and also the fact that they have managed two draws despite their goal-shy nature going into the clash.

Recent Form (league)

Sunderland: DWLW Aston Villa: DLLD

Key Men

Sunderland

Wilson Isidor can become the first player since Darren Bent in the 2010/11 season to score in his team’s first three matches at the Stadium of Light and further enshrine himself in the hearts of the faithful as he fends off competition from Brobbey.

Granit Xhaka’s experience at the base of midfield has made a world of difference to the Black Cats and he will want to bring all his nous to help his team over the line.

Enzo Le Fee missed his side’s game against Crystal Palace due to a ‘small injury’ but will want to continue making an impression, either as a starter or off the bench, as he seeks to leave the same mark on the Premier League, as he did with his sparkling form in the Championship.

Aston Villa

Harvey Elliott scored midweek and will want to further his side’s resurgence by playing a creative role, with possible personal gains also on offer with a World Cup on the horizon.

Ollie Watkins is yet to get off the mark this season, despite registering 17 goals for Emery’s side last campaign and will want to save the Villans from the ignominy of becoming only the third side in top-flight history to fail to score in any of their first five league games.

Unai Emery will have studied the statistics between the Black Cats and Villa, and noticed how closely they are matched on various parameters including xG. He will know that it is a matter of time before their fortunes turn, understanding the fine margins in the Premier League that lie between being a 7th placed team and a 19th placed team.

Match Prediction

Though Aston Villa will be the away team and Sunderland have home advantage, there is a pervading sense of the Black Cats having overperformed with the Villans being underperformers so far.

Emery’s side flew the coop with Elliott’s goal breaking their duck, and with that monkey off their back, they will have freedom to express themselves.

With either team’s results having a sense of unsustainability, something has got to give, and this fixture might represent the perfect opportunity to reset to equilibrium.

Aston Villa look likely to nick it in a cagey affair.

Where To Watch?

Sunderland vs Aston Villa in the Premier League will be live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League with coverage beginning from 13:00 UK time for a 14:00 kick-off.