Aston Villa confirmed the signing of Sunderland 26-year old striker Darren Bent for an initial 18 million pounds and additional costs that could rise up to another 6 million pounds. Aston Villa have another 16 Premier League games to play, how many goals will Bent bag before the end of the season?
Chelsea will be looking for revenge on Tuesday when they will travel to meet Sunderland. The last time these two sides met the Black Cats pulled off a great upset at Stamford Bridge by beating Chelsea 3-0 and that result triggered Chelsea's bad patch that saw them slipping down in fourth place. This time 6th placed Sunderland will have to play without top goalscorer Darren Bent whom they just sold to Aston Villa.
Second placed Arsenal will meet 8th placed Sunderland on Saturday in a game that has three very important points at stake for both teams. Arsenal breezed past Leyton Orient in the midweek FA Cup replay and the Gunners are four points behind Manchester United in the league but with a game in hand. Sunderland were beaten 2-0 by Everton last week and the Black Cats are two points behind 6th placed Liverpool.
Sixth placed Liverpool will travel to meet eighth placed Sunderland on Sunday in a game that could be very important for the Europa League qualification places. Liverpool are coming from a disappointing European tie with Portuguese club Braga, they were held to a goalless draw at Anfield Road and knocked out of the competition while Sunderland managed to get a 0-0 draw at Arsenal in the last league game.
Fourth placed Manchester City will have a tough home game on Sunday as they welcome 9th placed Sunderland. Manchester City will have to win if they want to stay in the title race since they are already 10 points behind leaders Manchester United while Sunderland are in a strange position: a win could boos their chances for an Europa League spot while a defeat will bring them closer to relegation! Both teams lost their last league games, both 2-0: Sunderland at home against Liverpool and Manchester City at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea.
He will need time to settle, he might turn into an expensive flop too!
Sunderland have broken their transfer record to bring in Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan from Rennes for 13 million pounds. Fraizer Campbell will be out with a long term injury so Gyan will team up with last season's top goalscorer for the club, Darren Bent.
The two European candidates will meet on Saturday in a clash that could make some difference in the league table since Bolton are currently in 6th place on 26 points while Sunderland are 7th on 24 points. Last weekend Bolton grabbed a narrow 2-1 home win against Blackburn while Sunderland got a goalless away draw at Fulham.
Manchester United had a quick break last weekend as their game at Chelsea was postponed but they will be back in action on Sunday when Sunderland will visit Old Trafford. The Black Cats beat Bolton 1-0 last weekend to climb into fifth place while Manchester United are top of the table. However, Sunderland have recorded a few surprising results this season, most of you surely remember their 3-0 win at Stamford Bridge.
The two rivals will meet on Sunday at the Stadium of Light and Sunderland will surely be keen on avenging the 5-1 defeat that they recorded at St. James' Park earlier in the season. Newcastle won their last league game quite convincingly, 5-0 against west Ham, while Sunderland grabbed a narrow 1-0 win at Aston Villa. Sunderland are in 6th place before the game while Newcastle are 8th, five points behind their arch rivals but with a game in hand.
He's worth every penny, that's a coup for Aston Villa!
He won't live up to that price tag.
Sunderland striker Darren Bent has handed in a transfer request after Aston Villa made an £18million move for the England international.Bent has been a regular scorer for the Black Cats since joining from Tottenham 18 months ago, he has scored 36 goals in 63 appearances during his time on Wearside following his £10million switch from Tottenham.
