Played
November 3, 2012 11:00 AM EDT
Stadium of Light — Sunderland
Referee: M. Jones
Attendance: 41515
November 3, 2012 11:00 AM EDT
Stadium of Light — Sunderland
Referee: M. Jones
Attendance: 41515
Premier League Preview: Sunderland - Aston Villa
The Black Cats play host to their manager's former club with both teams aiming to bring an end to underwhelming starts to the season and grab a vital three points.
By Alex Hess
Getty Images
| PROBABLE LINEUPS |
|
SUNDERLAND
 Mignolet Bardsley, Cuellar, O'Shea, Rose Larsson, Cattermole Johnson, Sessegnon, McClean Fletcher |
ASTON VILLA
 Given Lowton, Vlaar, Lichaj, Bennett Albrighton, El Ahmadi, Delph, N'Zogbia Agbonlahor, Benteke |
Martin O'Neill welcomes his old club to Wearside with the continued absence of his central defensive duo Titus Bramble (hip) and Wes Brown (calf) leaving his squad notably weakened at the back.
He should, though, have the option of recalling Seb Larsson to his lineup, with the Dane expected to have recovered from the knock that kept him out of Wednesday's Capital One Cup defeat to Middlesbrough.
The visitors also find themselves shorn of a key member of their backline, with Richard Dunne (groin) still not ready for a return to first-team action.
Youngster Joe Bennett will be available, though, returning from his one-match suspension, while Nathan Baker (ankle) and Ciaran Clark (knee) should also be at Paul Lambert's disposal, with both likely to shake off respective recent injuries.
Gary Gardner (cruciate) and Stiliyan Petrov (serious illness) remain long-term absentees for the Midlands side.
| DID YOU KNOW? |
Saturday's game represents a meeting of the two lowest-scoring teams in the division. Sunderland sits rock bottom of the 'goals for' chart, having netted only six times in its opening eight league games, while Aston Villa is joint-second from the bottom with only one more from nine matches.
- The only clash between the two clubs since O'Neill took over on Wearside also saw boths club coming into the fixture struggling for goals. Aptly, the game in April, 2012, finished 0-0.
- Each of these clubs' league form so far this season offers miserable reading, having only secured two wins between them in a combined 17 games.
- Newcastle front-man Demba Ba currently stands as the Black Cats' second-top goalscorer so far this season, following his own goal in the Tyne-Wear derby. Steven Fletcher (pictured right) is Sunderland's only goalscorer all season with an impressive five tallies.
- Fletcher's strike partner, Stephane Sessegnon, has not found that net in 17 appearances going into this clash.
Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
-
Sunderland 2-1 Aston Villa
- 21.32 %
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Sunderland 1-2 Aston Villa
- 13.97 %
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Sunderland 1-1 Aston Villa
- 12.5 %
| English Premier League (EPL) (EPL) | Apr 29, 2013 | Aston Villa 6 - Sunderland 1 |
|
| English Premier League (EPL) (EPL) | Nov 3, 2012 | Sunderland 0 - Aston Villa 1 |
|
| English Premier League (EPL) (EPL) | Apr 21, 2012 | Aston Villa 0 - Sunderland 0 |
|
| English Premier League (EPL) (EPL) | Oct 29, 2011 | Sunderland 2 - Aston Villa 2 |
|
| English Premier League (EPL) (EPL) | Jan 5, 2011 | Aston Villa 0 - Sunderland 1 |
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Sunderland
     |
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| May 19, 2013 | Tottenham 1 - Sunderland 0 | EPL |
| May 12, 2013 | Sunderland 1 - Southampton 1 | EPL |
| May 6, 2013 | Sunderland 1 - Stoke 1 | EPL |
| Apr 29, 2013 | Aston Villa 6 - Sunderland 1 | EPL |
| Apr 20, 2013 | Sunderland 1 - Everton 0 | EPL |
Aston Villa
 |
||
| May 19, 2013 | Wigan Athletic 2 - Aston Villa 2 | EPL |
| May 11, 2013 | Aston Villa 1 - Chelsea 2 | EPL |
| May 4, 2013 | Norwich City 1 - Aston Villa 2 | EPL |
| Apr 29, 2013 | Aston Villa 6 - Sunderland 1 | EPL |
| Apr 22, 2013 | Manchester United 3 - Aston Villa 0 | EPL |
| 22 | Simon Mignolet | Goalkeeper |
| 2 | Phil Bardsley | Defender |
| 16 | John O'Shea | Defender |
| 24 | Carlos Javier Cuéllar | Defender |
| 6 | Lee Cattermole | Midfielder |
| 7 | Sebastian Larsson | Midfielder |
| 8 | Craig Gardner | Midfielder |
| 14 | Jack Colback | Midfielder |
| 11 | Adam Johnson | Midfielder |
| 28 | Stéphane Sessegnon | Midfielder |
| 26 | Steven Fletcher | Striker |
| 20 | Keiren Westwood | Goalkeeper |
| 27 | Matthew Kilgallon | Defender |
| 25 | Danny Rose | Midfielder |
| 15 | David Vaughan | Midfielder |
| 23 | James McClean | Midfielder |
| 25 | Fraizer Campbell | Striker |
| 8 | Louis Saha | Striker |
| 22 | Bradley Guzan | Goalkeeper |
| 4 | Ron Vlaar | Defender |
| 6 | Ciaran Clark | Defender |
| 27 | Joseph Bennett | Defender |
| 34 | Matthew Lowton | Defender |
| 7 | Stephen Ireland | Midfielder |
| 15 | Ashley Westwood | Midfielder |
| 25 | Barry Bannan | Midfielder |
| 11 | Gabriel Agbonlahor | Striker |
| 20 | C. Benteke | Striker |
| 26 | Andreas Weimann | Striker |
| 1 | Shay Given | Goalkeeper |
| 29 | Enda Stevens | Defender |
| 30 | Eric Lichaj | Defender |
| 12 | Marc Albrighton | Midfielder |
| 14 | Brett Holman | Midfielder |
| 16 | Fabian Delph | Midfielder |
| 21 | Jordan Nathaniel Bowery | Striker |
Results
Times In EDT
Live
Final
scheduled
Suspended
Cancelled
Postponed
Match News
Top Scorers
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Robin van Persie Striker Man United |
26 | 3 |
|
Luis Suárez Striker Liverpool |
23 | 0 |
|
Gareth Bale Midfielder Tottenham |
21 | 0 |
|
C. Benteke Striker Aston Villa |
19 | 3 |
|
Michu Midfielder Swansea City |
19 | 0 |
