Off the back of picking up a battling draw away at Crystal Palace last time out in the Premier League, Sunderland should be full to the brim with confidence as Aston Villa come to town.

After all, Unai Emery’s Villans are yet to even score a goal in the tough division so far this season, away from also failing to collect a single win, with the Black Cats also two victories from two on home turf at the Stadium of Light.

Still, Sunderland will know they cannot underestimate the West Midlands outfit despite their slow start out of the blocks, with Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers a dangerous duo to contain at the peak of their powers.

The defence will have to be switched on throughout, therefore, but Regis Le Bris might be tempted with a tinker to the forward department ahead of the showdown later today, as Chemsdine Talbi potentially drops out of his starting XI.

Why Talbi could be dropped

When looking back on the 0-0 stalemate at Selhurst Park, it’s clear that it was a clash where the Black Cats’ defence shone more than the attackers.

Both Nordi Mukiele and Omar Alderete, in particular, rose to the occasion when thwarting Jean Philippe-Mateta throughout, with the no-nonsense centre-back pairing winning eight duels between them, as per Sofascore.

Yet, while the defenders covered themselves in immense glory, some of the attackers did struggle to get into the tight affair, with Talbi guilty of putting in an unmemorable showing.

While Simon Adingra on the left won all of his ground duels and completed two tricky dribbles forward, his Moroccan counterpart wasn’t as lively, with zero duels won on his end, while failing to even attempt a dribble to catch the hosts off guard.

Having cost a reasonable £19.5m to bring in this summer, which is a dent in the Black Cats’ overall spending of £162m, those with Sunderland connections will feel a little disappointed in what the promising 20-year-old has offered so far.

With Enzo Le Fee reportedly back fit for a return to home soil today, Le Bris might well fancy starting the magical midfielder instead of persisting with Talbi, leading to another exciting attacker at his disposal being pushed out to a new role down the right.

Why Simon Adingra should start in a new role

Indeed, while Le Fee can play in a central role or down the left, the stylish Frenchman is not well-suited to the right channel.

On top of that, the last time he featured in the league on the left flank, he was the hero that kickstarted a swift Black Cats comeback in a 2-1 win over Brentford, having levelled proceedings with his coolly taken penalty.

The real question remains, however, in who will take over from an absent Talbi on the opposing wing, with Adingra perhaps the chosen man to swap the left flank for the right against Emery’s challengers.

Unlike Talbi, as has been previously mentioned, the ex-Brighton and Hove Albion attacker did stand out in flashes against the Eagles, meaning the Ivorian being axed for the contest today would have felt harsh. Moreover, he also showed throughout his stay on the South Coast an adaptability to shine on the right wing.

RW

27

4 + 3

LW

26

5 + 1

RM

4

2 + 0

LM

3

0

AM

1

0

Amazingly, despite starting every Sunderland clash to date on the left, Adingra would actually make more appearances for Fabian Hurzeler’s side on the right flank, with a healthy seven goal contributions coming his way from this alternate position from 27 total matches.

It could well be a change that sees the 23-year-old attacker spark into life, with the “explosive” forward – as he has been labelled previously by analyst Ben Mattinson – yet to truly get up and running on Wearside, despite collecting 12 Premier League goal contributions on the books of the Seagulls down either channel.

Having also scored against Villa last season, Adingra will be hoping another tricky display from himself can inspire Sunderland to yet another victory at the Stadium of Light.

Talbi, on the contrary, might have to exercise patience, as both Le Fee and Adingra attempt to cause chaos all match to further their side’s excellent start and to keep Villa deep in their unwanted mire.