Former Aston Villa Forward Defends His Prediction for Aston Villa vs. Sunderland Despite Backlash

Sunderland takes on Aston Villa at Stadium of Light in MD5 on September 21.

IMAGO / NurPhoto

AFC Sunderland will host Aston Villa at the Stadium of Light on Saturday. Regis Le Bris’ side has won both their home games this season, and they would hope to keep the streak alive against Unai Emery’s men. 

An ex-Premier League star handed a damning prediction to Sunderland ahead of their fifth clash of the Premier League season. Despite receiving criticism, he has no intention to change his stance. 

Ex-English Striker Double Down on His Sunderland vs. Aston Villa Prediction

Sunderland enters matchweek 5 as the slight favorites for the clash against Emiliano Martinez’s side. They have secured seven points out of the possible 12 and have conceded only three times in the entire season. On the other hand, Aston Villa hasn’t found the back of the net and is sitting at 19th place with only two points out of their first four games.

Chris Sutton, who played eight games for Aston Villa in the 1996-97 season, believes Aston Villa will make their comeback on Sunday. He predicted a 2-0 win for Emery’s side at Stadium of Light while speaking to BBC Sport earlier this week. 

Sutton’s prediction was not received well by the fans who flocked to X to take digs at him. But he is still going to stick to his words. 

“I haven't backed Sunderland to win yet this season, and a few of their fans have been hammering me on social media because they have made a really good start,” Sutton said. “But I am not just going to back them to win for the sake of it, even against an Aston Villa side who are short of form and confidence, and cannot even score a goal at the moment either.”

Sutton added that Ollie Watkins will score the first goal of the season and also clinch the season’s first win for the club. He wrapped up his statement by saying that Sunderland fans can hammer him again this week if he’s proven wrong.

Aston Villa will likely be without Youri Tielemans, Boubacar Kamara, and Amadou Onana. If Sunderland manages to replicate their defensive brilliance from last week, fans can expect the Black Cats to collect all three points on Sunday.