29th Aug 2015 | Premier League
Clean Sheets Coming Soon For Sunderland
The Mackems have the same back five and the same boss who kept vital clean sheets at the end of last season.
A lot has been made of Sunderland’s dismal defending this season, and rightly so, but the foundations are still in place for solidity and clean sheets.
The back five which defended heroically to secure Premier League status last May with a 0-0 draw at Arsenal were Pantilimon,Jones, Coates, O’Shea and van Aanholt. Those same players were in the starting line-up last week and the Black Cats looked much improved in a 1-1 draw with Swansea.
Interestingly the only chance in the chaos in between was that Younes Kaboul replaced John O’Shea and it appears that the experienced captain makes a huge difference.
Villa have gone back to looking pretty insipid up front having only found the net twice in three outings. Against opponents who will sit back, they will really struggle for goals.
This fixture has ended 0-0 three times in the last four years. Backing ‘no goalscorer’ at best odds of 17/2 may be a shrewder option that it initially looks here.
Odds correct at time of publishing: 08:24 29th Aug, 2015 but subject to change
