Sunderland vs Aston Villa Prediction 21.09.2025 | Premier League

After three years spent wandering in the Championship wilderness, Sunderland finally reclaimed their place among the elite last season, finishing fourth in the league before overcoming Bristol City in the semis and Sheffield United in a dramatic play-off final.

As a newly-promoted club, it is reasonable to expect that they will struggle in the top flight of English football and that survival will be their primary objective, but the Black Cats have made a surprisingly good start, picking up a decent seven points from their opening quartet of matches.

By all accounts, Regis Le Bris’ side looks set to rely on their home form to stay among the elite, having delivered dazzling displays in their first two fixtures at home, first sinking West Ham 3-0 and edging Brentford by a narrow 2-1 scoreline.

The Black Cats are dealing with a significant injury crisis, with seven players sidelined, including five defenders, though Aji Alese and Dan Ballard could still receive late call-ups if cleared by the medical team.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa found themselves in a nail-biting race for a top-five finish that promised Champions League football, yet they were left to make do with a Europa League berth after ending the season on equal points with Newcastle in fifth.

After guiding his side to the Champions League quarter-finals last term, Unai Emery embarked on the new season with high expectations, but few could have predicted a disastrous start that left his team, alongside Wolves, as one of the only sides to emerge winless from the opening four rounds (D2 L2).

The blame for this underwhelming start inevitably falls on the struggling offense, which remains shockingly toothless, failing to score in stalemates with Newcastle and Everton and going down 1-0 to Brentford before being hammered 3-0 by Crystal Palace.

Although they ended their scoring famine during midweek action, Birmingham had to come to terms with a first-round EFL Cup exit as Brentford triumphed in a penalty shootout, stretching the club’s winless run to five games.

While summer signing Victor Lindelof’s availability for Sunday’s clash remains uncertain, Emery will have to cope without the influential midfield trio of Amadou Onana, Boubacar Kamara, and Youri Tielemans, all sidelined with hamstring injuries.