Aston Villa – Sunderland: Seven Goal Thriller at the Villa (4-3)

The various races for continental competition in the English topflight are messier than ever, and this match in the Midlands added to the twists and turns. Seven goals at Villa Park produced a spectacle for supporters, but the hosts had the last laugh as their run-in continues to go to plan.

Tactical analysis and match report by Emmanuel Adeyemi-Abere.

Aston Villa are back in a familiar place with Unai Emery. The Basque boss has never failed to steer the side into continental competition since he arrived in the dugout in November 2022, and that target is set to be achieved once more with a view to Europe’s elite competition. A poor run of results in the new year has not been capitalised upon by fellow Champions League chasers aside from Manchester United while a 7-1 aggregate rout of Bologna has sent his squad into the Europa League semi-final.

Sunderland are one of the sides in an extremely packed Premier League mid-table. Their streaky patch in season saw four defeats in five between the end of January and the end of February, but a tally of ten points from their last available 15 has put them back in contention to take one of the last two spots for European qualification. It would cap off the year for an outfit that has exceeded all expectations, taking points off . . .