There’s a West Midlands derby to enjoy in the Premier League on Saturday as Aston Villa welcome Wolves to Villa Park.
Village enter the weekend’s combat having celebrated yours Champions League bounce back with a 3-0 win over Young Boys in the Swiss capital on Tuesday night. Unai Emery’s side initially struggled to settle on the unfamiliar artificial turf but rose to the occasion and dominated their hosts after Youri Tielemans gave them a first-half lead.
Their only blip domestically was a 2-0 defeat at home to Arsenal on matchday two, a game they certainly wouldn’t have lost had Ollie Watkins been fit for 2023/24. The Villans have won three of four games and fought back from 2-0 down to beat Everton last weekend.
Villa’s West Midlands rivals have suffered a poor start to the season heading into Saturday’s derby and the pressure may be starting to mount on Gary O’Neil. Wolves have picked up just one point from their opening four games and crashed out of the Carabao Cup in midweek after being beaten 3-2. Brighton at Amex.
here it is 90 minutes guide to Aston Villa’s Premier League clash with Wolves.
Aston Villa vs Wolves H2H Record (Last Five Matches)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Aston Villa |
Wolves |
|---|---|
|
Young Boys 0-3 Aston Villa – 17/09/24 |
Brighton 3-2 Wolves – 18/09/24 |
|
Aston Villa 3-2 Everton – 14/09/24 |
Wolves 1-2 Newcastle – 15/09/24 |
|
Leicester 1-2 Aston Villa – 31/08/24 |
Nottingham Forest 1-1 Wolves – 31/08/24 |
|
Aston Villa – Arsenal 0-2 – 24/08/24 |
Wolves 2-0 Burnley – 28/08/24 |
|
West Ham 1-2 Aston Villa – 17/08/24 |
Wolves 2-6 Chelsea – 25/08/24 |
|
country |
TV channel/live broadcast |
|---|---|
|
united kingdom |
N/A |
|
united states |
royal peacock |
|
canada |
fuboTV Canada, Fubo Sports Network 2 Canada |
Emery took no chances with winger Leon Bailey on the artificial turf in midweek, but the Jamaica international could return to action this weekend.
There are some concerns over the condition of Ollie Watkins, who was pictured with ice strapped to his ankle after coming off in Bern on Tuesday. However, Emery assured supporters that there is nothing wrong with the Villa striker and he should be fine to start on Saturday, even with Jhon Duran waiting in the wings.
The hosts, however, are still without long-term absentees Tyrone Mings and Boubacar Kamara. Matty Cash and Robin Olsen are also out.
Aston Villa’s predicted line-up against Wolves (4-2-3-1): Martinez; Nedeljkovic, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Onana, Tielemans; McGinn, Ramsey, Rogers; Watkins.
O’Neil made the changes for Wolves’ Carabao Cup defeat at Brighton on Wednesday night and the visitors’ heavy hitters should return to the XI on Saturday. Joao Gomes, meanwhile, will keep his place in midfield.
An ankle injury suffered in last Sunday’s defeat to Newcastle means star full-back Rayan Ait-Nouri is unlikely to feature at Villa Park, with Craig Dawson also set to miss out. Toti Gomes will return to the squad after recovering from a hamstring injury, but Wolves will be unable to call up Sasa Kalajdzic, Enso Gonzalez and Boubacar Traore this weekend.
Jose Sa’s struggles continued in midweek, so Sam Johnstone should get his head between the sticks.
Wolves predicted line-up against Aston Villa (4-4-1-1): Johnstone; Semedo, Mosquera, Bueno, Toti; Bellegarde, J. Gomes, Lemina, R. Gomes; wedge; Larsen.
Wolves’ recent run in this game will inspire some hope in the visitors that they will be able to walk away with a result, but it looks like a tough ask.
While O’Neil’s team should offer a couple of tactical inquiries, they are once again without a couple of key players who will reduce their threat and hamper their dynamic. The likely absence of Ait-Nouri is huge.
Villa were able to cruise through on Tuesday night, so fatigue shouldn’t be too much of an issue, and the hosts should be able to ride a wave of positive momentum into the upcoming derby as they cruise towards a routine win at home.
