AliousEmery Names Starting XI as Aston Villa Seek First Win of the Season at Sunderland
Aston Villa travel to the Stadium of Light on Sunday still searching for their first Premier League win of the campaign, and head coach Unai Emery has confirmed his starting line-up for the clash against in-form Sunderland.
Villa’s season has begun in frustrating fashion, and Emery acknowledged in his pre-match press conference that the task will not be straightforward against a Sunderland side eager to scrap for every point in front of their home support.
Squad availability remains a mixed picture. Youri Tielemans, Amadou Onana, Ross Barkley, and Andres Garcia are all still sidelined, while Victor Lindelof has been carefully managed to ensure he is fit enough to return.
On the brighter side, Boubacar Kamara returned in midweek during the Carabao Cup tie with Brentford, a boost as the club hopes to steadily move closer to full strength.
Emery has made two changes from the side that drew with Everton. Kamara slots back into midfield, with Evann Guessand also earning a start.
John McGinn is set to drop deeper to partner Kamara in a double pivot, while Emiliano Buendia, Morgan Rogers, and Guessand will support Ollie Watkins in attack.
There is further encouragement from the bench, where Lindelof is available again alongside attacking options such as Jadon Sancho, Harvey Elliott, and Donyell Malen — providing Emery with plenty of potential game-changers should the match require it.
Emery will hope this XI establishes a strong defensive base while also unlocking more creativity and ruthlessness in the final third — qualities that have been missing in Villa’s early-season struggles.
If they can finally sharpen their cutting edge, this could be the day Villa put an end to their winless run and begin climbing the table.
Alious
