Premier League: Wolves Can Ruin the Villans’ Top Four Hopes

Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Aston Villa

The Wolves are going to host Aston Villa for their 35th Premier League match of the 2022–23 season at the Molineux Stadium, where they’ve been solid as of late.

Julen Lopetegui’s side has won four consecutive matches at home, but extending their streak to five straight games is going to be difficult against a side that’s vying for European football next season.

Both teams are coming off defeats; the Wolves suffered a 6-0 humiliation at the hands of the Seagulls, while the Villans endured a costly defeat to the Red Devils.

The pre-game SBOTOP betting odds predict a tight affair despite their gap in the table. So, this is definitely a fun match to look forward to with valuable points up for grabs.

Talking Points

Wolves aren’t safe just yet

Wolves are currently 14^th in the Premier League standings, but their job of maintaining their top-flight status is not yet finished with four games to go. They have notched 37 points, which is only seven adrift of the relegation zone. However, their recent run of Premier League 2023 results, especially on the road, has been bad.

Their 6-0 loss to Brighton is easily one of their worst defeats in a long time, and one of the main reasons for that is because of Julen Lopetegui’s questionable team selection.

For whatever reason, Lopetegui benched Hwang Hee-Chan, Daniel Podence, Adama Traore, and Matheus Cunha as he used a 4-4-2 formation with four midfielders. And it backfired as the Seagulls destroyed them out wide.

Podence, Hwang, and Adama are three of the team’s top scorers this season, accounting for 12 goals and four assists. Because they were benched against the Seagulls, Lopetegui probably won’t make the same mistake twice by not starting them against the Villans.

The biggest injury concern for the Wolves is Nelson Semedo, who went off just before halftime against Brighton. He is their best option at right-back, and if he misses this game, Jonny will get the nod as his replacement.

One player to look out for if you’re the Wolves is Leander Dendoncker, who moved from the Molineux to Aston Villa last summer. The Belgian midfielder is enjoying his time under Unai Emery this year.

Aston Villa’s injury list easing up

Aston Villa’s top four run was halted by Manchester United last time out. They couldn’t contain the Red Devils, who won the game because of Bruno Fernandes’ goal after 39 minutes. Because of the loss, Aston Villa fell to seventh place when Liverpool secured their fifth consecutive win against Fulham on Wednesday.

Despite their slip-up, the fight for Europe is far from over for Aston Villa, and Unai Emery is hoping to have some of his key players back at 100-per cent.

Emery claims that Matty Cash, Philippe Coutinho, Leon Bailey, and Boubacar Kamara are all close to returning to training and that one or two of them could be involved against the Wolves.

Cash was in great form prior to suffering a calf injury last March, while Leon Bailey is the team’s third-leading scorer with five goals this season.

History

Wolves are undefeated in their last four Premier League matches against Aston Villa (W2, D2). They had a longer unbeaten run before against the Villans in the league between April 1957 and August 1961 (8 consecutive games).

And they have won their last three Premier League home matches by an aggregate tally of 5-0. The Wolves last won four consecutive home league matches at Molineux Stadium in April 1975.

Aston Villa have lost two of their last three Premier League matches against Wolves at the Molineux Stadium, which is as many as they had in their previous 15 league visits (W7, D5).

These two teams squared off in January, which ended in a 1-1 draw. Daniel Podence scored the first goal of the game in the 12^th minute, but Danny Ings netted the equaliser for the Villans in the 78^th minute.

Betting Tip

The Premier League 2023 odds gave Aston Villa the slight advantage to win this game, as they’re priced at 2.44, while the Wolves are at 2.69, and a draw is at 3.15 in the 1X2 market.

With more options to choose from for Unai Emery, Aston Villa should bounce back from last weekend’s loss, although the Wolves are going to give them a huge fight.

Other than a Villa victory, we should see some goals on Saturday, making Total Goal 2-3 at 1.89 a plausible alternative.

 

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