Wolves will host Aston Villa at Molineux on Saturday evening, looking to get their season back on track after dropping into the relegation zone again.
Wolves are coming into this game vs Aston Villa on the back of four consecutive defeats in the Premier League, and they will be under pressure to grind out a win. The Black Country outfit are 18th in the standings, and they one of the favourites to go down this season.
Wolverhampton Wanderers need to start picking up points if they want to survive in the Premier League beyond this season. Meanwhile, Aston Villa are chasing European qualification, and they need to start picking up points. The Villans have been quite inconsistent in recent weeks, and they have picked up just two wins from the last six league games.
The midweek win over Celtic in the UEFA Champions League will have given them a confidence boost, and it will be interesting to see if they can put together a winning run now. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Wolves
Wolves will be without Yerson Mosquera, Boubacar Traore, Enso Medina, and Sasa Kalajdzic due to knee injuries. Jorgen Larsen has a thigh injury, Carlos Forbs has an ankle injury, Leon Chiwone has a knee injury, and Mario Lemina has been sidelined until the end of the window so that he can sort out his future. Joao Gomes misses out after his red card against Arsenal.
Wolves are likely to shape up in a 4-4-1-1 formation vs Aston Villa, with Sam Johnstone in goal. Matt Doherty and Nelson Semedo will start as the full-backs. They will look to keep things tight at the back. Santiago Bueno and Craig Dawson will form the central defensive partnership.
Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Rayan Ait-Nouri will start in the wide areas, and they will look to protect the full-backs. They will help out in the attack as well. In the midfield, Tommy Doyle will start alongside Andre. They will look to add control and defensive cover to the side. Matheus Cunha will start as the attacking midfielder here, with Hwang Hee-chan leading the line for Wolves vs Aston Villa.
Probable Lineup (4-4-1-1): Johnstone; Doherty, Bueno, Dawson, Semedo; Bellegarde, Doyle, Andre, Ait Nouri; Cunha; Hwang
Aston Villa
Pau Torres misses out with an ankle injury, Ross Barkley has a calf injury, Tyrone Mings has a knee injury, Amadou Onana has a thigh injury and Matty Cash is out with a muscle injury. Meanwhile, Jhon Duran has joined Al-Nassr.
Aston Villa will shape up in a 4-2-3-1 formation vs Wolves, with Emiliano Martinez in goal. Andres Garcia and Lucas Digne will start as the full-backs. They will look to help out defensively and help out in the attack. Diego Carlos will start alongside Ezri Konsa at the heart of the defence.
As for the midfield unit, John McGinn and Youri Tielemans will look to control the tempo of the game and drive to the middle of the park. Leon Bailey and Jacob Ramsey will add pace, flair and creativity to the side from the wide areas. Morgan Rogers will start as the attacking midfielder, and he will look to create goalscoring opportunities for his teammates. Ollie Watkins will lead the line for Aston Villa.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Martinez; Garcia, Konsa, Carlos, Digne; McGinn, Tielemans; Ramsey, Rogers, Bailey; Watkins
Key Stats
- Wolves have lost their last four matches in the Premier League.
- Aston Villa are undefeated in their last five matches in the Premier League.
- 14 goals have been scored in the last six meetings between these two sides.
- Both teams have won two each out of the last six meetings between them.
- Four of the last six matches between these two sides have seen both teams get on the score sheet.
Player to Watch
Morgan Rogers
The Aston Villa midfielder has been in impressive form this season, and he is our key player to watch out for. Wolves are likely to sit deep and frustrate the opposition as they look to grind out a positive result here.
Rogers could help create opportunities for his teammates with his passing, creativity, technical ability and vision. The Englishman is in impressive form right now, and he will look to make a defining impact in the final third. Aston Villa will need his help to open up a deep defence here.
Prediction
Wolves 1-2 Aston Villa
Wolves will look to put up a fight here and grind something out of this contest. The Black Country outfit have been quite mediocre in recent weeks, and they are up against a strong Aston Villa side.
This is likely to be a close contest but the visitors have enough quality to come out on top. Aston Villa are quite superior compared to the home team, and they should be able to find a way past the Wolves defence. The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-1 win for Unai Emery and his charges.