League Cup Preview: Sunderland - Aston Villa

Kick-off: Tuesday, October 27, 2009 - 19:45 GMT
Stadium of Light, Sunderland

It may not be at the top of the agenda for the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson and Carlo Ancelotti, but for Bruce and O’Neill, the League Cup presents a realistic chance of gaining some silverware this season. Yes, while the Premier League undoubtedly remains the bread and butter for both Sunderland and Aston Villa, a good cup run certainly wouldn’t go amiss for either manager.

Black Cats boss Steve Bruce has admitted that he sees Martin O’Neill’s Villa as the perfect blueprint for his Sunderland side to follow. The former Manchester United center-back pointed to the “young and English” backbone within the Villans' squad and the role of Randy Lerner in supporting the progression of the club. With the likes of Lee Cattermole, Jordan Henderson, Anton Ferdinand and Darren Bent, and with the backing of chairman Niall Quinn and owner Ellis Short from above, Sunderland certainly have all the ingredients in place to fulfill Bruce’s ambitious objectives.

O’Neill has rather begrudgingly accepted that Villa will have to adopt a ‘big club mentality’ in that he will have to use the League Cup to chop and change his side to allow those on the periphery the chance to make an impression. That said, the likes of Emile Heskey and Nigel Reo-Coker will hardly severely weaken the Midlanders, and O’Neill will certainly send out a side that he believes is capable of getting a result at the Stadium of Light.

Unlike Villa, who grabbed a point against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday, Sunderland came away from the Midlands empty-handed as they succumbed to a 2-1 defeat to Birmingham City on Steve Bruce’s return to St Andrew's. While O’Neill may be expected to assume more of a cautious approach to the League Cup, Bruce should see this fourth round home tie as a fantastic springboard to reach the quarter-finals in an attempt to mount a serious assault on the latter stages of the competition.

FORM GUIDE

Sunderland

24 Oct: Birmingham City 2-1 Sunderland (Premier League)
17 Oct: Sunderland 1-0 Liverpool (Premier League)
3 Oct: Manchester United 2-2 Sunderland (Premier League)
27 Sep: Sunderland 5-2 Wolves (Premier League)
22 Sep: Sunderland 2-0 Birmingham City (League Cup)

Aston Villa

24 Oct: Wolves 1-1 Aston Villa (Premier League)
17 Oct: Aston Villa 2-1 Chelsea (Premier League)
5 Oct: Aston Villa 1-1 Manchester City (Premier League)
26 Sep: Blackburn Rovers 2-1 Aston Villa (Premier League)
23 Sep: Aston Villa 1-0 Cardiff City (League Cup)

TEAM NEWS

Sunderland

Top scorer Darren Bent may be afforded the night off following the slight knock he picked up against Birmingham at the weekend, despite completing the 90 minutes. That could see former Manchester United striker Fraizer Campbell given the nod alongside Kenwyne Jones in attack.

George McCartney may be picked from the start having been used sparingly in Sunderland’s last four games, while recent signing Boudewijn Zenden should be given his first start since joining the club on a free transfer.

Lee Cattermole will definitely miss out as he continues his recovery from a knee injury while John Mensah remains a doubt with a calf problem.

Possible starting XI: Gordon; McCartney, Ferdinand, Turner, Bardsley; Zenden, Cana, Henderson, Malbranque; Jones, Campbell.

Aston Villa

Martin O’Neill is likely to ring the changes ahead of the trip to the north east as he utilities a squad rotation policy at the club. That could see as many as four changes at the back with Brad Guzan, Nicky Shorey, Habib Beye and Luke Young all keen for a chance to impress.

Fabian Delph, Nigel Reo-Coker and Craig Gardner will all be desperate to earn a place in the starting XI and all three of them could quite plausibly feature from the off.

England striker Emile Heskey will no doubt come in for John Carew and this could be his big chance to stake a claim for starting spot in the Premier League.

Possible starting XI: Guzan; Shorey, Dunne, Beye, Young; Milner, Delph, Reo-Coker, Gardner; Heskey, Agbonlahor.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Sunderland – Craig Gordon

It isn’t often that you find a goalkeeper being selected as the one to keep an eye out for but you would expect Gordon will be called into action on at least a few occasions with the likes of Emile Heskey and Gabriel Agbonlahor sniffing around. If the Scot can have the proverbial good day in-between the sticks for Sunderland then the Wearsiders have every chance of being in the hat for the draw for the quarter-finals.

Aston Villa – Emile Heskey

He may be considered the perfect foil for Wayne Rooney in an England jersey but it is a completely different story at club level for Heskey. O’Neill has made it patently obvious that John Carew is his preferred option in the Premier League which has certainly been to Heskey’s continued detriment so far this term. The Villa manager recently urged the former Liverpool striker to show a ruthlessness in front of goal and the encounter with Sunderland will give him the ideal opportunity to prove his worth against Premier League opposition.

PREDICTION

It’s ultimately a tough one to call as both sides, who coincidentally sit 7th and 8th in the Premier League table, have endured something of an inconsistent but ultimately satisfying start to the season.

If the game was being played in the Midlands, I’d be backing Villa; but Sunderland should make home advantage count and edge into the next round of the competition. I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of extra-time and penalties in this one either.

Sunderland 1–0 Aston Villa

Stephen Darwin, Goal.com