Sunderland vs Aston Villa: Emery's Crisis vs Newcomer Euphoria

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Sunday, September 22, 2025

The Stadium of Light will host a clash between a confident newcomer and a team in crisis. Sunderland can achieve a historic series of three home wins, while Aston Villa desperately seeks their first points and goals of the season under pressure on Unai Emery.

Villa's Goalless Crisis

Aston Villa faces the worst offensive crisis in recent history - they haven't scored or earned a point in the Premier League yet. They risk becoming only the third team in top-flight history to fail to score in their first five league games after Ipswich Town (1970-71) and Crystal Palace (2017-18).

The current series of five league games without a goal is the second-longest in club history - only a six-game streak between December 2014 and February 2015 was longer. Harvey Elliott finally broke the goal drought in the EFL Cup against Brentford in a 1-1 draw.

Villa's expected goals of 3.07 are second-worst in the league behind Wolves (2.63), revealing systemic problems in chance creation.

Emery's Challenge Against Newcomers

Unai Emery has an excellent record against newcomers - Villa under his leadership haven't lost 15 Premier League matches against promoted teams (12 wins, 3 draws). The last defeat came 0-3 to Fulham in Steven Gerrard's final match.

Ollie Watkins represents the key to revival - he has 12 goal contributions in his last nine games against newcomers (6 goals, 6 assists). He's level with Gabriel Agbonlahor (14 goals, 6 assists) in goal contributions against promoted teams (10 goals, 10 assists).

Sunderland's Home Strength

The Black Cats seek their first three home wins to start a top-flight season since 1965-66. The last newcomer with three home wins at the start of a Premier League season was Burnley in 2009-10, though they were eventually relegated.

Wilson Isidor has scored as a substitute in both home games this season. The last player to score in Sunderland's first three home games was Darren Bent in 2010-11.

Sunderland may be overperforming - they've scored five goals from just nine shots on target (56% success rate), second-best in the league behind Arsenal (64%).

Defensive Stability vs Offensive Problems

Robin Roefs made six saves in the 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace, when the Eagles created 1.77 expected goals. Sunderland's defense shows solidity against quality opponents.

Le Bris expects the return of Dan Ballard and Luke O'Nien, while Dennis Cirkin, Romaine Mundle, and Leo Hjelde remain out. Enzo Le Fée will be assessed late after a training injury.

Villa have no new problems in their starting XI and were encouraged by Emiliano Martínez's impressive form in the draw with Everton.

Historical Record

Sunderland have won only one of their last 12 league games with Villa (5 draws, 6 defeats). This victory came in their last Premier League encounter - 3-1 at home in January 2016 under Sam Allardyce.

Villa completed a double in the 2017-18 Championship. Emery seeks his first three league wins in a row against Sunderland since December 2009 under Martin O'Neill.

Match Expectations

The Opta supercomputer favors Villa with a 55.3% chance of victory despite their crisis. Sunderland has a 22.5% chance and a draw 22.2%. Villa desperately need points to kickstart their season, while Sunderland can create history.

Thanks to Stats Perform for the data

Photo:footem.in

More information:24live.com


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