Aston Villa are back in Premier League action once again on Wednesday evening as they take on local rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers. The Villans come into the game full of confidence after a surprise 2-0 away victory at Tottenham Hotspur last time out, whereas Wolves impressed but were unfortunate to lose 1-0 to Manchester United at Molineux.
Unai Emery has come in and completely changed the mood at Villa Park, as three wins in his first four league games has seen the Lions soar up the standings. Now only five points outside the top seven, the only league defeat so far has been at home to Liverpool on Boxing Day. It is reaching a point where the hope of European qualification may not actually be too far-fetched.
Wolves, meanwhile, are still deep in a relegation battle and will be desperate for a victory. Rayan Ait-Nouri’s 95th-minute winner at Everton helped the Wanderers to a valuable win on December 26, but Julen Lopetegui and his men will need more results like that to get out of trouble.
Clashes between Villa and Wolves always tend to get rather heated; especially over recent years. Last season it was the team in orange that completed the double as they won 2-1 at Molineux in April and were victorious in a 3-2 thriller at Villa Park in October 2021.
The Lions have been struck with some injury concerns ahead of the clash, meaning Emery is unlikely to be able to name an unchanged team for the third game running. It could be a tough one, and with that in mind, here is our predicted Villa starting XI – in a 4-2-2-2 formation.
1. GK: Emiliano Martinez
Comes in for Robin Olsen, even despite the Swede’s strong showing away at Spurs.
2. LB: Lucas Digne
Re-established himself as the club’s number one choice at left-back afer his injury return.
3. CB: Tyrone Mings
Did well up against the likes of Harry Kane and Heung-min Son, making up for struggling at home to Liverpool.
4. CB: Ezri Konsa
Has partnered Mings for most of the season and we do not see this changing, especially after a clean sheet.