‘They can hammer me’ – Chris Sutton and Paul Merson agree on outcome of Sunderland clash vs Aston Villa
Pundits Chris Sutton and Paul Merson have both predicted that Sunderland will lose their Premier League clash against Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon.
The Black Cats have enjoyed a stellar start to their long-awaited return to the top flight, taking seven points from their first four matches, including a hard-fought sharing of the spoils against Crystal Palace last time out. On home soil, they boast a 100% record, having beaten both West Ham and Brentford.
For their part, Villa are yet to score a goal in the league this season, and are 19th in the table after registering two draws and two defeats thus far. But despite their fairly woeful form, both Sutton and Merson have backed Unai Emery’s side to come good at the Stadium of Light this weekend.
What has Chris Sutton said about Sunderland vs Aston Villa?
Speaking to BBC Sport, Sutton forecast a 2-0 win for the visitors, stating: “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.
“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. Instead I am going to say Villa will come good, and for Ollie Watkins to not just get their first goal of the season, but to secure their first win too. Apologies again to Sunderland fans for that – they can hammer me again this week if I’m wrong.”
What has Paul Merson said about Sunderland vs Aston Villa?
Elsewhere, Merson has also backed Villa for the win, predicting a narrow 1-0 defeat for Sunderland. Speaking to Sportskeeda, he said: “We talk about timings all the time. This is the perfect time for Sunderland to face Aston Villa. Not only are Sunderland playing well, Villa can’t even score a goal for a toffee! To make matters worse, Unai Emery’s men were dumped out of the cup by Brentford this week. Sunderland will look at this game as a huge chance to get another impressive win on home turf.
“This Villa team doesn’t whet my appetite. When I saw them last season, they looked like a proper team. Now I look at them and it’s the exact opposite! Harvey Elliot is a good signing and he has to be in the starting line-up for this game. I don’t know what Jadon Sancho is doing at the moment though. He’s not running at anybody not committing people and not taking chances! I’d be shocked if he starts this game. Sancho needs to stop playing it safe and has to take risks with the ball at his feet. If you lose the ball, no one cares. Try and make things happen instead of just passing it around.
“Sunderland are going to come out with the intention of taking the game to Villa. And if they score first at home, they have a massive chance to get all three points. Villa must absorb the early pressure and stay in the game. It’s true that when you don’t score goals as a team, you lose a lot of confidence. But I expect Villa’s quality to get them over the line in the end here.”
