Aston Villa will look to build on their impressive win over Tottenham Hotspur when they take on Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League on Wednesday night.
Unai Emery’s side picked up an impressive 2-0 win away from home against Tottenham and they will be full of confidence and momentum heading into this contest. Villa are currently 12th in the league table and they will be hoping to break into the top half with a win over Wolves.
On the other hand, the visitors crashed to a 1-0 defeat against Manchester United in their last outing and they will be under pressure to grind something out of this contest. Wolves are currently 19th in the league table and they cannot continue to keep dropping points if they want to preserve their status as a Premier League club next season.
Under the Villa Park lights. ✨
🔜 #AVLWOL pic.twitter.com/ylrz9iC8dQ
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) January 3, 2023
Team News and Tactics
Aston Villa
The home side will be without the services of Diego Carlos and Jacob Ramsey because of injury problems. John McGinn picked up a thigh injury recently and he is likely to miss out as well.
Carlos is a long-term injury concern and he is not expected to return anytime soon. On the other hand, Ramsey is out with a hamstring injury but he could return at the end of the week.
Unai Emery is expected to continue with his 4-4-2 formation with Emiliano Martinez in goal. Ashley Young and Lucas Digne are expected to start as the full-backs here and Ezri Konsa will partner Tyrone Mings at the heart of the defense.
The likes of Phillippe Coutinho and Emiliano Buendia could start as the wide playmakers in the midfield and Boubacar Kamara is likely to partner Douglas Luiz in the middle of the park. Coutinho and Buendia will add creativity from the wide areas and they are expected to move infield to make up the numbers as well.
Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins are set to be deployed in a front two.
Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Martinez; Young, Konsa, Mings, Digne, Coutinho, Luiz, Kamara, Buendia; Bailey, Watkins
Wolves
The away side will be without the services of Chiquinho, Pedro Neto, and Sasa Kalajdzic. All three players are ruled out with injuries.
Julen Lopetegui is expected to line up his side in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Jose Sa in goal.
Nelson Semedo and Hugo Bueno are expected to start as the full-backs and Nathan Collins will partner with Maximilian Kilman at the heart of the defense.
Ruben Neves is set to partner with his compatriot Matheus Nunes in a midfield pivot and Joao Moutinho is expected to be deployed in the attacking midfield role. Neves will look to anchor the midfield and Nunez will add drive and creativity from the deep.
Daniel Podence and Hwang Hee-Chan will be deployed in the wide areas and Diego Costa will lead the line for the visitors. Costa’s hold-up play could be crucial for Wolves away to Villa where they are unlikely to create too many chances.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Sa; Semedo, Collins, Kilman, Bueno; Neves, Nunes; Hee-Chan, Moutinho, Podence; Costa
Key Stats
- Aston Villa haven’t won any of their last six Premier League home games against Wolves (D3 L3).
- Wolves did the league double over Aston Villa last season.
- Wolves manager Julen Lopetegui and Aston Villa’s Unai Emery have already faced once this season in La Liga, with Villarreal drawing 1-1 with Sevilla in September.
- Aston Villa striker Danny Ings has been involved in four goals in his last five Premier League appearances against Wolves.
- Aston Villa have won four of their last six league games.
Player to watch
Emiliano Buendia
Wolves have been quite poor at the back this season and they have conceded 26 goals in 17 league games. They are likely to leave spaces at the back and Emiliano Buendia has the quality to exploit those gaps and create chances for his teammates.
The Argentine playmaker was excellent against Tottenham in the last game and he managed to score a goal for Aston Villa. He will be keen to keep that level of performance going here as well.
The attacking midfielder is our man to watch during the midweek clash at Villa Park.
Prediction
Aston Villa 2-1 Wolves
The home side are the better team here and they have the confidence and momentum with them. Wolves have been abysmal this season and this will be a tough outing for them.
The visitors are likely to put up a fight like they have done against Everton and Manchester United in their last two outings, but Villa have the quality and the confidence to edge this one. The Hard Tackle predicts a narrow 2-1 win for Unai Emery’s team.
