Aston Villa vs Sunderland. Sky Bet Championship.
Villa ParkAttendance27,662.
Tuesday 21 November 2017 11:55, UK
Mile Jedinak could return to the starting line up for Aston Villa when they host Sunderland.
The midfielder came off the bench in Saturday's 2-1 win at QPR after his trip to Australia, where he helped his country qualify for the World Cup.
John Terry (foot), Jonathan Kodjia (ankle) and Scott Hogan (stomach) are all out for Steve Bruce, but Henri Lansbury is available after being an unused substitute at Loftus Road following a knee problem.
Chris Coleman is without a host of senior players for his first match as Black Cats boss. Lee Cattermole is suspended after earning his fifth caution of the season, while Marc Wilson (calf), Jonny Williams (shoulder) and Duncan Watmore (knee) all suffered injuries against Millwall on Saturday.
Lamine Kone and Billy Jones (both knee) stay on the sidelines and Paddy McNair is unlikely to be ready for a second game in four days following a long lay-off. One positive is Didier Ndong's return from compassionate leave and he should return to the first XI.
This is the first meeting between these sides outside of the top-flight since April 1975 - Villa won 2-0 with goals from Ian Ross and future boss Brian Little.
The Black Cats have won two of their last 18 league visits to Villa Park (D8 L8).
Gabby Agbonlahor has scored five goals in his last five league games against Sunderland.
Sunderland have conceded 33 goals so far this season -only Burton Albion have conceded more in the Championship (34). The Black Cats are the only Championship side yet to keep a clean sheet this season.
Steve Bruce has won 11 of his last 14 home matches against sides he was previously the manager of (D2 L1), his only defeat coming against Crystal Palace in November 2013.
Aston Villa and Sunderland have scored six goals each from outside of the box this season - only Ipswich Town (7), Hull City (7) and Brentford (8) have scored more Championship goals from outside of the box than these two sides.
Starts in the Sky Bet Championship don't come much tougher than a trip to Villa Park! But that's what awaits Chris Coleman and Sunderland on Tuesday night, and what a marker it would be to lay down if he can get a result.
However, Aston Villa got a great win at the weekend after coming back at QPR, especially when you consider who they have beaten at Loftus Road in recent weeks. I feel this will be a narrow home win.
Prutton predicts: 2-1 (7/1 with Sky Bet)
