Aston Villa welcome Sunderland to Villa Park on Sunday in what looks set to be a tightly contested Premier League clash.

Unai Emery’s side are nicely placed in the Champions League places already. However, they could also qualify by winning the Europa League, where they are in the semi-finals and set to face Nottingham Forest.

Sunderland are in the hunt for a European spot themselves as they look to cap off a wonderful return to the top flight. Regis Le Bris will be hoping to build on the back-to-back wins in their last two outings.

Villa were left disappointed last Sunday. They left the City Ground with just a point in a tough encounter with Nottingham Forest, and will be hoping to get back to winning ways to cement their place inside the top five.

Sunderland have proven to be a stubborn opponent for teams all season. They defend well and will be hard to break down, and striker Brian Brobbey has proved to be a handful for defenders all season.

Villa come into this one off the back of a second-leg Europa League demolition of Bologna, where they won 4-0, so some rotation by Unai Emery’s side might be non-negotiable.

The reverse fixture at the Stadium of Light saw Sunderland rescue a draw with 10 men after Reinildo was sent off for kicking out at Matty Cash.

What are the best bets for Aston Villa vs Sunderland?

Match to end in draw

This will be a tight game. Sunderland don’t give up a lot of chances even to the better attacking teams in the league – like Aston Villa.

A draw would probably be viewed as a good point by both sides. Sunderland did drop off slightly over the last two months, but they had a big portion of their key players missing during that time.

Now that those players have returned, they are starting to pick their form back up, and they will need to be on form to earn a point here, which I think they will be.

Both teams to score

Aston Villa’s home form and attacking options should allow them to create chances, even against a pretty resolute Sunderland defence.

But Villa’s inability to keep clean sheets is also a big factor, with Sunderland managing to score goals from multiple scenarios despite never really looking great going forward.

I’ve gone for both teams to score here, much like the reverse fixture, I feel this one will be a score draw.

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Where can I watch Sunderland vs Tottenham?

For viewers in the USA, this Premier League game can be watched on Peacock. Kick-off is at 9:00am ET.

Supporters in the UK can catch the action on Sky Sports Premier League. Kick-off is at 14:00 GMT.

What is Aston Villa’s current form?

W-W-W-D-W

What is Sunderland’s current form?

W-L-L-W-W

What were the results of the last five head-to-head matches between Aston Villa and Sunderland?

21/09/25 – Sunderland 1-1 Aston Villa (EPL)

06/03/18 – Sunderland 0-3 Aston Villa (EFL)

21/11/17 – Aston Villa 2-1 Sunderland (EFL)

02/01/16 – Sunderland 3-1 Aston Villa (EPL)

29/08/15 – Aston Villa 2-2 Sunderland (EPL)

What is Aston Villa’s predicted team?

Bizot – Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne – Onana, Tielemans – McGinn, Rogers, Buendia – Watkins

Doubt: Sancho

Injured: Kamara, Martinez

What is Sunderland’s predicted team?

Roefs – Reinildo, O’nien, Alderete, Mukiele – Xhaka, Sadiki, Diarra – Le Fee, Rigg – Brobbey

Doubts: Ballard

Injured: Angulo, Ta bi, Mundle, Traore

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