Sunderland have been in decent form lately, winning their last two matches and drawing the two before that. Their most recent result was a strong 5-0 away win, which shows they are really firing. Aston Villa, on the other hand, have had a tougher run. They lost their last game and have won only two of their last five, with one draw and two losses. This suggests Villa are struggling a bit more than Sunderland right now.

Looking at recent meetings between these two, the matches have been very close. They drew 1-1 in their last encounter, and the one before that was a high-scoring 4-3 thriller. This suggests the games between them are often tight and could go either way. Given Sunderland's current good form, they look like the more likely team to win this match, but with Aston Villa's ability to make it close, a draw is also possible.