Sunday April 19, 2026
Aston Villa-Sunderland – first division
villa park – Kick off: 14:00
Tickets and match coverage
Tickets: Tickets are sold out.
TV/Streaming: Full coverage of the live match is available on Sky Sports.
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Radio: Full live match commentary available via BBC Radio Newcastle (not online)
The accumulation…
Considering how brilliant the season has been, I was a little surprised to realize that after beating Spurs last Sunday, it was only the second time this season that we had won in consecutive games in the Premier League. The only previous time we achieved this feat was at the end of October, when we beat Wolves at home and then beat Chelsea in the smoke.
Since suffering defeat at the Stadium of Light against Fulham at the end of February, we have seen some of that early season form return. That loss meant we lost five of seven games, but since then we’ve seemingly gotten back to doing what we do well, with the solid foundations of our structure combined with taking advantage of the big moments when they come.
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The five games since then contain a blip in terms of defeat against Brighton on our own turf, but the away performances at Bournemouth, Leeds and beyond were underpinned by last Sunday’s three-point take against Spurs, which ended as a fairly convincing win, considering the chances on both sides.
Statistics are not on our side when we look at goals, which apparently win games. Only Wolves have scored fewer goals away from home than us this season and only Citeh, Arsenal and ourselves have conceded fewer at home. But not many people gave us a chance at Elland Road under the lights or at St James’, where they were supposed to get their revenge.
In terms of incentive, Liverpool have a small issue: a Merseyside derby starting at the same time as us, and if they lose it and we manage to claim maximum points, the gap for a Champions League place is reduced to three points. Food for thought.
Unai Emery has been in charge of Villa Park for three and a half years now and he has not done badly. The Spaniard replaced Steven Gerrard at the end of October 2022 with Villa three places and three points above relegation after twelve games, finishing seventh.
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This resulted in European football for Aston Villa for the first time since 2010-11, which was also the last time they finished in the top half of the Premier League before Emery’s arrival. They improved on that in their second season, finishing fourth (bringing the Champions League to Villa Park) and then sixth last season.
Then, five games into this season, questions were asked when Villa were winless in their first five games of the season and performances leveled the points on the board. The last match in that sequence was the draw at the Estadio de la Luz and after that draw they won twelve of the next thirteen matches.
This led to them moving up the table to the point where they were considered in the title race during the festive season. But since the last game of 2025, which ended in a 4-1 defeat to Arsenal, Emery’s team has won just four of fourteen games, something that has gone slightly unnoticed domestically. Most recently, they are on a streak of one win in the last six.
However, with just six games remaining, Villa sit comfortably in the top four, with a seven-point gap between them and Chelsea in sixth, so something would have to go spectacularly wrong for Villa fans to once again not have to wait for the Champions League.
The bets…
The bookies have the boys at 4/1 to win the game. Villa has 13/20 to take the three points and the tie is 27/10.
Face to face…in the villa park
(All competitions)
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The last time we saw each other…in the villa park
Tuesday, November 21, 2017
Championship
Aston Villa 2-1 SunderlandEdit
Sunderland: Ruiter, Matthews, O’Shea, Browning, Oviedo, McManaman (Asoro), Gibson (Robson), Honeyman, McGeady, Gooch (Vaughan), Grabban
Unused Substitutes: Steele, Love, Galloway, Beadling
Aston Villa: Johnstone, Hutton, Taylor, Whelan (Jedinak), Samba, Chester, Snodgrass, Hourihane, Davis (Grealish), Onomah, Adomah (Elmohamady)
Unused Substitutes: Direct, De Laet, Bjarnason, Lansbury
Attendance: 27,662
Prediction…
Aston Villa 0-0 Sunderland
They are not at their best, they are in recent form and I think we have a bit of momentum so I am going for a goalless draw.