Delph's effort is sent well over the crossbar as the referee blows for full-time! A shocking 4-0 defeat for Sunderland at the hands of a rejuvenated Villa outfit, as they suffer a fatal blow in their bid to avoid relegation.
90' +1
L. Bridcutt gets yellow.
Bridcutt concedes a a free-kick in a dangerous area, but Villa play it back to keep possession. No danger from Sunderland in these later stages, a poor display in defence and attack.
89'
Villa sitting deep now to hold out until full-time, with Bacuna doing well to defend the run of Wickham. Possession now all the way back with Guzan as the fourth official signals for four added minutes!
87'
Wickham is again involved after finding a way into the box, but his shot is sent well wide of Guzan's net. He has offered some encouragement for Sunderland but it has come too late for his side.
85'
Wickham turns wonderfully and has a shot on goal, but his effort sails well over the crossbar. A positive attack from the striker though, with Sunderland heading towards a catastrophic home loss.
83'
D. Graham enters the game and replaces S. Fletcher.
R. Hepburn-Murphy enters the game and replaces C. Benteke.
Fletcher's effort sums up Sunderland's performance today, as they stumble towards a potentially fatal defeat. Poyet looks a very concerned figure on the sideline, as Cleverley lays off Bacuna down the right flank. Guzan then has to clear an attempted through ball from Alvarez.
81'
CLOSE! Fletcher almost gives his side a consolation goal as he fought through the defence down the left wing, but his strike hits the post and is eventually cleared. The striker picks up an injury too!
79'
A. Weimann enters the game and replaces C. N'Zogbia.
Entering the closing stages on Wearside, with Poyet's toothless Black Cats set to lose ground in the fight to avoid relegation. Bridcutt is unable to pick out Wickham in the box as another attack is thwarted.
77'
Defoe finally has a touch in the penalty box but his efforts are to no avail, after Bacuna was strong to intercept. Benteke is keen to get a hat-trick as he bombs into the Sunderland penalty area, but his threat is cancelled out.
75'
Benteke holds the ball up strongly and lays off Delph down the left wing. The Villa players are getting loads of time and space on the ball, as the Stadium of Light faithful continue to jeer their team.
Minute
Description
73'
Sanchez carries the ball from defence with ease, as no Sunderland player even makes a challenge. Poor display still in defence, with Defoe becoming a frustrated figure in attack.
71'
Slight improvements from the Black Cats, but Agbonlahor breaks forward and finds Benteke down the middle. N'Zogbia then picks out Cleverley, as the visitors threaten to net a fifth goal!
69'
Guzan easily collects a lofted delivery from Fletcher, with Sunderland's three strikers not able to find a way thorugh. Villa are standing strong in defence and have things under control.
67'
Larsson continuing on, despite having had stitches on his ankle at half-time. He is unable to make an impact, as Delph finds Sinclair on the left wing. The visitors in no hurry to get forward though as they keep possession.
65'
Sunderland finally have a spell of possession but have no creativity to get Defoe involved. Villa have a strong set up, with Larsson sending a free-kick wide from a dangerous position.
64'
C. Sánchez enters the game and replaces C. Clark.
63'
Comfortable for Villa, with Wickham the only visiting player to make an effort to track down the ball. Sunderland are deflated and have showed no signs of scoring at all, as Delph dictates play from the middle.
61'
After an hour of play, Sunderland have made no genuine threat, as Defoe continues to be outnumbered up front. Villa look likely to score again from a counter attack, as the hosts push forward in search an opportunity.
59'
Wickham has made a slight impact on proceedings, as he offers Sunderland a new attacking outlet. However, no real chances have fallen his way with Villa keeping possession well.
57'
Sunderland's first glimpse of hope, as Alvarez sends a shot on target after Fletcher put a brilliant ball into the box. Defoe was flat-footed and unable to react to the cross!
55'
Villa look in no danger of conceding as the hour mark approaches. They are dominating in the middle, as O'Shea comes accross to make a challenge on Delph to deny him a chance on goal.
53'
Defoe loses the ball after poor support from his midfield, as the Black Cats continue to struggle. Poyet's men need a spark from somewhere if they are to make any impact!
51'
Villa enjoying themselves now on Wearside, as Delph sends his shot well wide of the target. Sherwood will be over the moon with his side's performance so far. Clark then makes a sublime tackle to deny Fletcher's shot in the box.
49'
After several minutes played of the second half, Larsson finally makes his way on to the pitch. Villa pushing hard down the right wing, but Brown clears for Defoe to pick up in the Sunderland half. However, the attack breaks down after sloppy play.
47'
Pantilimon is almost beaten again, as N'Zogbia strikes towards the top corner, but the goalkeeper does well to stop it. Bizarre scenes as Sunderland are without Larsson and down to 10 men for these opening moments.
46'
C. Wickham enters the game and replaces R. Álvarez.
45'
Sunderland continue to be caught on the break, as they try to get forward in search of a goal! Real danger here of things getting embarrassing at the Stadium of Light as the referee blows his whistle for half time!
We are off and running again here on Wearside. Sunderland 4-0 down and need a miracle to recover!
44'
C. Benteke has scored a goal for Aston Villa! Assist by L. Bacuna.
GOOOOAAAALLLLLLLLL! Unbelievable as Benteke scores again with a marvellous header from Bacuna's brilliant delivery! It's 4-0 now already! Incredible stuff!
43'
Villa controlling the game towards the break, as O'Shea comes out of defence and loses the ball. Sunderland can't get out of their own half, with supreme pressure coming from Sherwood's impressive side.
41'
Villa are performing brilliantly as Sunderland try haplessly to find a spark from somewhere. Half time quickly approaching, with fans already leaving in their dozens! Agbonlahor brushes past the defence again and Delph's subsequent strike drifts just wide of the post.
39'
Incredible scenes as Sunderland fans leave the ground before half time! An angry outburst towards their struggling team, who are in danger of suffering an embarassing defeat.
37'
G. Agbonlahor has scored a goal for Aston Villa! Assist by C. N'Zogbia.
GOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLL! Agbonlahor strikes again! Fantastic counter attacking goal from Villa, as N'Zogbia breaks through the middle and lays the goalscorer off, who glides past four defenders to pick his spot.
36'
Benteke holds the ball up well as Villa continue to put pressure on Sunderland's stuttering defence. Sherwood's side in no rush now, as they dominate play from the midfield areas.
34'
Penalty appeal! Larsson claims for handball after the ball strikes Clark's arm, following an effort from Defoe. The referee waves away any protests as Sunderland concede a free-kick deep in the Villa half.
32'
Sunderland all over the place at the back, with Villa's widemen causing havoc, especially down the right flank. Delph holds possession strongly down the centre as the hosts struggle to get a grip on proceedings.
30'
Shocking miss! Sinclair sends his shot from six yards over the crossbar, after a great run and delivery from Bacuna on the right flank. That could come back to haunt Villa, as they fail to slot in a third!
28'
Close! Rodwell attacks a cross from Bridcutt, but the former Manchester City midfielder sends his effort wide. The hosts need the next goal to get back into this crucial relegation encounter!
26'
Fletcher is unable to header home after connecting with Bridcutt's nicely weighted pass forward, with Villa dictating the tempo of this game from midfield. Lovely play from Delph see's the central man set up Sinclair, but the attack breaks down in the box.
24'
The Black Cats need to claw their way back as relegation looms large! Poyet called his defence to the sideline to talk while Bridcutt received medical treatment for a knock.
22'
Bacuna almost finds a way through for a third goal! The full back bombed forward past a helpless Sunderland defence as the home side struggle to deal with the pressure.
20'
Incredible scenes at the Stadium of Light as Villa pounce and take a two-goal lead! Fantastic start from Tim Sherwood's Villans, as first goalscorer Benteke holds the ball up for his side to continue their attack.
18'
G. Agbonlahor has scored a goal for Aston Villa! Assist by C. Clark.
GOOOAAAALLLLLLLL! Agbonlahor strikes straight away to send Villa two goals up! The winger tucks it easily past the keeper after poor defending from O'Shea.
16'
C. Benteke has scored a goal for Aston Villa! Assist by L. Bacuna.
GOOOOAAAALLLLLLLLLL! Villa's towering targetman Benteke slots home after lovely team play from Villa. Cleverley's pass found Bacuna down the right wing, who layed off the Belgian to open proceedings!
14'
Defoe goes through on goal from an Alvarez pass, but Guzan comes out to clear the danger. The English striker looked to be heading for a one on one situation!
12'
The game springs to life as Villa break with Bacuna and N'Zogbia after a corner, but the following shot from the wideman is easily dealt with by Pantilimon. Delph tries to slot Sinclair through on goal after possession is won back, but Sunderland stand strong to clear.
10'
Villa keeping possession but being kept in their own half by immense pressure from the Black Cats midfield. A defensive mix up leads to Alvarez having a run at goal, his subsequent shot is blocked by Irishman Clark.
8'
L. Bacuna gets yellow.
Fletcher wins a free-kick brilliantly after drawing a challenge from Bacuna, who is booked. Alvarez is the target for the set-piece, but it is overhit and the home team's attack breaks down.
6'
Rodwell surges forward and a lay-off from Fletcher almost falls for Van Aanholt in the box. Alvarez then cuts in from the left flank but is unable to get a shot away, as he is rapidly hunted down by Villa's defence.
4'
Guzan's poor clearance almost gifts Sunderland a chance, but Villa stand strong to fend off the attack. N'Zogbia cuts in from the right and has his shot blocked for a corner, which is eventually cleared away.
2'
Ten games to go, the relegation run in is in full swing! Today's game is crucial in that battle to remain in the top-flight. Sunderland start by sending a long ball forward towards Larsson, but Villa win back possession.
1'
We are underway here at the Stadium of Light! The home side get the game going and are shooting from left to right in this first period.
Hello and welcome to live coverage of today's Premier League clash between Sunderland and Aston Villa. I'm Lee Gormley and I'll be guiding you through all of the action from the Stadium of Light.
Some team news for you ahead of the line-ups!
Home team: Sunderland are without the suspended Lee Cattermole after he picked up his 10th booking of the season in the recent draw at Hull and was handed an automatic two-match ban. Adam Johnson remains suspended by the club while Emanuele Giaccherini (ankle) and Will Buckley (knee) are both ruled out.
Away team: Ron Vlaar (calf) is absent and Kieran Richardson (calf) also misses out. Aly Cissokho (groin) is injured and Philippe Senderos (calf), Joe Cole (hamstring), Nathan Baker (knee), Alan Hutton and Jack Grealish (both suspended) are all ruled out.
Aston Villa starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Guzan; Lowton, Okore, Clark, Bacuna; Delph, Cleverley; Sinclair, N’Zogbia, Agbonlahor; Benteke.
Aston Villa subs: Given, Gil, Sanchez, Kinsella, Weimann, Westwood, Hepburn-Murphy.
The Black Cats have won just one of their last eight league games, and are without a win in six in all competitions. With just four Premier League victories to their name this season, they are in desperate need of a positive result.
Sunderland are ranked joint-lowest in the amount of home league victories this season, level with bottom side Leicester City. But a victory would see them open up a four-point gap over their opponents in the lower reaches of the table as the race for safety intensifies.
The home side have failed to score in five of their last six Premier League matches against Villa, netting just one in the other encounter. Gus Poyet’s men have also drawn a blank in three of their last four Premier League home matches.
Gabriel Agbonlahor will be a threat, having scored in three of his last four Premier League matches against Sunderland. But Villa have scored just six goals in their last 21 Premier League away games and have gone just two minutes short of 10 hours of playing time since they last scored a goal on the road.
There have been seven red cards in the last 12 Premier League meetings between Villa and Sunderland, so expect some fireworks at the Stadium of Light today!
The Black Cats have drawn more often against Villa than versus any other opponent in their Premier League history (11 times), but a win is crucial to both sides today as they aim to beat the dreaded drop.
We are just 10 minutes away from kick-off!
It's 4-0 at half time! A double from both Agbonlahor and Benteke! Sublime display from Villa, as Sunderland look completley helpless. Big 45 minutes coming up in the race to avoid relegation.
Villa earn an impressive 4-0 win over Sunderland, with a delightful double from both Benteke and Agbonlahor in the first-half gifting three points to Sherwood's men. That's all for our coverage today, until next time!
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