Wolves look to continue their improved form as they meet Aston Villa at Molineux in the opening Super Sunday clash.
Victory over Villa will lift Wolves up into the top ten, although seventh is possible if Brighton and Manchester United draw elsewhere.
Villa meanwhile will remain in the bottom half of the table but can leapfrog Wolves with a win into 13th position.
Team news
Embed from Getty ImagesDiogo Jota could return to Wolves’ starting lineup after serving a one match European ban in midweek.
Morgan Gibbs-White could also return after recovering from a back injury, whilst Willy Boly is their only definite absentee as he continues to recover from an ankle injury.
Villa could have Jack Grealish available after he missed last weekend’s defeat to Liverpool with a knock.
Jota (groin) and Fredric Guilbert (leg) are also expected to be available but Keinan Davies is still ruled out with a thigh related issue.
Form
Wolves enter this match with one defeat in their last ten across all competitions, although they have drawn 1-1 in each of their last three league games after coming from behind.
Villa are winless in their last two league games despite taking five points from their previous three beforehand, with last month’s 5-1 win at Norwich representing Villa’s only points on the road this season.
Stat Attack
- Wolves have taken just six points from eight previous Premier League meetings with Aston Villa (W1, D3, L4).
- Both teams have scored in their last three top flight meetings at Molineux.
- Villa’s Tyrone Mings has produced a league high 25 blocks so far this season and represents 35.2% of Villa’s league high 71 blocks.
- Raul Jimenez is the only Wolves player to have scored a headed league goal this season, doing so on two occasions.
- Wolves’ Rui Patricio is yet to make a sweeper clearance this season whereas Villa’s Tom Heaton has made four.
Prediction
This is a crucial clash for both teams because Wolves need to win games like these if they’re to challenge for Europe again, whereas Villa need as many points as they can to starve off a relegation scrap.
I therefore am expecting a scrappy game between two strong attacks but Wolves do defensively look the stronger in ability, especially late on where Villa do tend to fade as the match wears on.
On that note, I am going for a home win here because Wolves look stronger and with the international break within sight, they can afford to push themselves more and get that win.
Prediction: Wolves 2-1 Aston Villa
Result: Wolves 2-1 Aston Villa