Villans travel to the
Stadium of Light after having upset champions Manchester United on Saturday. The unexpected 1-0 defeat of the Red Devils will have
Martin O'Neill and his players soaring with confidence.
Gabby Agbonlahor's shot in the 21' would prove to be the stroke of genius that catipulted the Villans into the Top Four. Having beaten Chelsea and Liverpool earlier this season, O'Neill will not dreading this matchup with 10th place
Sunderland. He will, however, take the matchup seriously enough as a win could put them into 3rd above Arsenal. The manager has some difficult decisions in selection that he must deal with for this match. Davies and Bouma are still out with injury, but Nigel Reo-Coker, Carew and Sidwell are healthy and ready to make a return to first-team action.
Portsmouth are probably playing the poorest football in the Premiership at this time. When
Sunderland faced them at home this weekend, they were unlucky not to get all 3 points.
Steve Bruce was both stunned and angry when, in the 90', Youbes Kaboul scored the equalizer that would end the match a 1-1 draw.
Darren Bent scored early in the match, however, and his goalscoring form will give the manager something to be happy about. The Black Cats have only lost once at home and will try take a strong defensive line against the attack of Villa. Ferdinand, Cattermole and Gordon remain sidelined but Kieran Richardson and Phil Bardsley will be healthy and ready for this tough matchup.
Although
Aston Villa have been performing above all expectations recently, their results have been inconsistent. With Steve Bruce adopting a defensive strategy and Darren Bent's level of productivity,
Sunderland should be able to match Villa's performance and manage a draw.
Sunderland vs Aston Villa
Tuesday December 15, 2009
Kickoff: 20:45 CET
Venue: Stadium of Light (Sunderland)
Tip: Draw (1X2)
Best Odds: 3.40 @ BetFair
Find More Odds Here.
