Sunderland vs Aston Villa injury news - as four players out and eight doubts

Aston Villa are back out on the road this weekend as they take on Sunderland away from home in the Premier League.

The Villans, visiting the Stadium of Light for the first time since 2018, will be desperate to right their wrongs after a terrible start to the new season. Unai Emery’s men are yet to score in the league and are the only goalless team in England’s top eight divisions.

Sunderland, albeit one of the weaker sides on paper due to their newly promoted status, have started pretty well. The Black Cats have won two, drawn one and lost one so far, defeated only by Burnley as the Clarets ran out 2-0 victors at Turf Moor back in August.

On the team news front, it’s fairly even as both teams have several key players unavailable. Sunderland just about have more injuries but it’s a close call.

Sunderland team news vs Aston Villa

Starting with Sunday’s hosts, and Sunderland will be hoping to have playmaker Enzo Le Fee back this weekend. Head coach Regis Le Bris said last week that Le Fee had picked up a small injury, hence he missed the 0-0 draw away at Crystal Palace. Le Fee remains a doubt, but there’s a chance at least.

Left-back Leo Hjelde is edging closer to a return from two Achilles tendon problems but he’s definitely out for this weekend, whereas winger Romaine Mundle isn’t due back until after the next international break. Backup defender Aji Alese is a little way off yet as he continues his recovery from a shoulder problem.

Extra care must be taken to ensure Dennis Cirkin comes back in the best possible shape. “We have to wait a bit,” Le Bris admitted. “Things didn’t heal properly after his wrist injury, and he has been complaining of his knee as well. He needs to rest a bit. We have decided to step back, give him a real period of rest so that he can reset and get ready to reconnect with the squad.”

There’s some good news for Sunderland, though, with central defender Daniel Ballard and midfielder Luke O’Nien both likely to return. There are no guarantees, but Le Bris said last week that he was hopeful Ballard and O’Nien would be fit in time to take on Villa.

Ruled out: Hjelde, Mundle, Alese, Cirkin. Doubts: Le Fee, Ballard, O’Nien.

Aston Villa team news vs Sunderland

Onto Villa, and Emery has plenty of players who are nearing returns but aren’t quite there, though a couple could be back in time for the trip to Wearside. Amadou Onana, out for the past few weeks with a hamstring problem, is one of those. The Belgium international has been working hard to get back to fitness.

Fellow Belgian Youri Tielemans, who suffered a calf injury away at Everton, is a major doubt. The Belgian’s issue isn’t as bad as first feared, but this game probably comes too soon. Right-back Andres Garcia is in a similar boat to Onana; he’s been on his way back for a while, but a late fitness test will be required.

Victor Lindelof missed Tuesday’s visit to Brentford with a small injury. Emery hopes the central defender will be back in time to play Sunderland, but there are no guarantees. Meanwhile, Ross Barkley is lacking in match fitness after an injury setback in pre-season. The midfielder also had to deal with a personal issue recently.

Doubts: Onana, Tielemans, Garcia, Lindelof, Barkley.