Sunderland vs Aston Villa Predictions

• Four of Aston Villa’s five games this season have gone under 2.5 goals
• The Villans are the only team yet to score in the top flight
• Sunderland are unbeaten at home this term

Struggling Villans lacking spark

The new campaign has gone from bad to worse for Aston Villa, who were knocked out of the EFL Cup on penalties in midweek by Brentford after taking just two points from their first four Premier League games.

Unai Emery’s side are the only team in the division yet to score and visit Sunderland looking to turn things around.

PSR restrictions have obviously had an impact on Villa’s ability to bring in new players but at present under Emery things appear to have gone a little stale, particularly in attacking areas.

His side are lacking real width and need to hope loan signings Jadon Sancho and Harvey Elliott can provide a spark to a squad that looks severely lacking in one at present.

Perhaps most concerning for Villa fans is that they have had a fairly gentle fixture list, failing to find the net against Brentford, Crystal Palace and Everton.

With tougher tests to come, and a Europa League campaign which starts with the visit of Bologna on Thursday, they need to start turning things around.

Black Cats solid at home

Their hosts Sunderland have had a fine start to life back in the Premier League, with two wins and a draw from their opening four matches.

Home form will be crucial to the Black Cats’ chances of staying in the top flight and they have won both of their home games against West Ham and Brentford respectively.

Regis Le Bris’ men were a touch fortunate to take a point from their goalless draw against Crystal Palace last time out however, as they failed to have a shot on target.

Key creative man Enzo Le Fee missed that game and is an injury doubt for this one, which is a big blow for the home side.

That should blunt their attacking prowess and as a result this could be a cagey affair, particularly when taking into account Villa’s issues going forward.

Four of the visitors’ last five games in all competitions have gone under 2.5 goals and this could be another which follows suit.

Watkins could find net

Correct score backers may want to keep in mind the fact that Villa have drawn three of their five matches in all competitions this term and a repeat of their 1-1 midweek cup draw is the pick.

Ollie Watkins has failed to get going this season but he has scored at least 15 goals in the last three Premier League campaigns, he could get off the mark in this one.