Sunderland's new predicted final Premier League finish after Aston Villa draw
Sunderland put another priceless point on the board with a 1-1 draw against Aston Villa on Sunday.
Sunderland secured another important point this weekend as their impressive Premier League return continues.
The Black Cats went down to 10 men in the first half after Reinildo was sent off for a senseless act of violent conduct on Matty Cash. Things got worse when Cash gave Villa the lead in the 67th minute, with Sunderland then staring down the barrel of a first home defeat of the season. But Regis Le Bris’ men drew level just eight minutes later through Wilson Isidor, ensuring Sunderland remain three without defeat at the Stadium of Light since returning to the Premier League.
It was an incredible show of resilience from the hosts, who outshot Villa 14-12, despite having just 29% possession. The draw keeps Villa in the bottom three, while elsewhere in the Premier League, Wolves remain pointless and West Ham are level with Villa on three points to round off the relegation zone.
Can Sunderland maintain strong start?
Sunderland are now five points clear of the relegation zone, and after so many tipped them for an immediate return to the Championship, it’s looking like their summer of heavy spending is already paying off - sitting seventh in the league at present.
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But what is the final predicted finish of the Black Cats following the fifth round of fixtures? We’ve taken a look at football statistics website Opta, who have used their data and analytics to predict the final Premier League standings. Here is where Sunderland are currently predicted to finish by Opta, along with the likelihood of them ending up in that particular point of the table.
Final predicted Premier League table
- Liverpool (60.51%)
- Arsenal (32.33%)
- Man City (19.33%)
- Chelsea (13.3%)
- Crystal Palace (11.26%)
- Newcastle (9.71%)
- Tottenham (9.29%)
- Bournemouth (8.77%)
- Aston Villa (7.78%)
- Brighton (8.81%)
- Everton (7.98%)
- Man Utd (7.88%)
- Fulham (7.82%)
- Nottingham Forest (8.35%)
- Brentford (9.2%)
- Leeds (10.86%)
- West Ham (11.75%)
- Sunderland (14.95%)
- Burnley (17.87%)
- Wolves (33%)
Amazingly, the data is still predicting Sunderland to be relegated in 18th place, with there being an expectation that Villa will rapidly improve to finish in the top half. Additionally, sides like Newcastle and Brighton - who are currently well below the Black Cats in the table - are expected to kick into gear and climb up closer to the European shuffle.
Another factor that may play against Sunderland is the fact that they haven’t yet played one of the supposed ‘big six’ sides. Their first such fixture is away at Manchester United on October 4, while in a run of seven games between October 25 and December 6, they face Chelsea away, Arsenal at home, and then both Liverpool and Manchester City away back-to-back.
That tough run may go a long way toward defining what Le Bris’ side are truly made of, and whether or not they can maintain this excellent start to the campaign. For now, Sunderland will just be focusing on their next game, which is away at Nottingham Forest, who sit 15th after drawing 1-1 against Burnley on Saturday to pick up their first point of the Ange Postecoglou era.
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