Aston Villa opposition spotlight: solid Sunderland looking to add to Unai Emery’s woes

Aston Villa’s third consecutive away fixture takes them to Sunderland for a tough challenge against the Premier League newcomers on Sunday.

Sunderland have made a very positive start to the season on their return to the top flight, picking up home wins against West Ham United and Brentford as well as a draw with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. Their only defeat was in their second game, in which they faced fellow promoted side Burnley.

Led by manager Régis Le Bris, Sunderland should be full of confidence and will smell blood ahead of Sunday’s match. Their aim will be to pile fresh misery upon a Villa team struggling for form, unable to score freely and suffering from injury problems in midfield.

In contrast to the last six teams who were promoted and immediately relegated, Sunderland have given themselves a platform to aim a little higher. They did a huge amount of business in the summer transfer window, seeking to strengthen in every position.

Among their many signings, a few names stand out. Former Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka is the Black Cats’ new captain. Former Villa winger Bertrand Traore now plays on Wearside, as do forward Brian Brobbey and ex-Brighton & Hove Albion man Simon Adingra.

One-time Villa target Lutsharel Geertruida joined Sunderland on loan from RB Leipzig on transfer deadline day.

With results looking good and home form strong, Le Bris will feel this is a good time to play against Villa with a view to collecting all three points at the Stadium of Light once more.

Le Bris’ Sunderland have started the Premier League season in terrific form and it’s going to be interesting to see just how far they can go. After four matches, albeit against similar opposition to the teams Villa have faced, they look more than capable of upsetting a few of the league’s mid-table teams and pushing for a top-ten finish.

Shared history

Both Sunderland and Villa have been managed in the modern era by Martin O’Neill and Steve Bruce. Before Unai Emery, O’Neill was the last manager to lead Villa into European competition. Bruce was much less successful, failing to win promotion from the Championship in an atrocious 2017/18 play-off final at Wembley.

Conversely, O’Neill spent only a short and unmemorable spell at the Stadium of Light and Bruce took them to a top-half Premier League finish in 2009/10.

Sunday’s match is their first meeting in the top flight since January 2016. Sunderland won 3-1 at home, a win that helped them towards safety and helped nudge Villa’s worst team in generations towards inevitable relegation.

Villa won both meetings in the second tier in their middle season of three in the Championship.

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