Wolves will be bidding to get back to winning ways in the Premier League when they take on local rivals Aston Villa at Villa Park on Wednesday evening.
The Black and Gold failed to build on their last-gasp win at Everton as they were undone 1-0 by Manchester United at Molineux on New Year’s Eve. There was plenty to for new boss Julen Lopetegui to be encouraged about his team’s display against Man United, but a 10th defeat of the season leaves the Black County outfit in the dreaded relegation zone.
Lopetegui will expect a response from his boys against Aston Villa, who head into the Midlands derby on the back of a morale-boosting 2-0 win at Spurs.
Wolves Team News
The attacking trio of Sasa Kalajdzic, Pedro Neto and Chiquinho will remain in the treatment room for the foreseeable future, but Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui has no fresh injury concerns to deal with ahead of the game at Aston Villa.
New signing Matheus Cunha, who joined on loan from Atletico Madrid, will be in the Wolves squad for the trip to Villa Park, Lopetegui confirmed in his pre-match presser.
Predicted Wolves Lineup vs Aston Villa (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper
Jose Sa has arguably been Wolves’ player of the season. The Portuguese is a certainty to start in goal as he hopes to keep a clean sheet against Aston Villa.
Defence
Max Kilman will resume his centre-back partnership with Nathan Collins at the heart of Wolves’ backline as they focus on keeping things solid and compact against the Villans during the 90 minutes.
Rayan Ait-Nouri could get the nod ahead of Hugo Bueno to start at left-back while Nelson Semedo fills in on the other flank as the right-back. Lopetegui could give both his full-backs the license to get forward at every opportunity and cause a few problems for Villa in the final third.
Midfield
Ruben Neves and Matheus Nunes should hold the midfield for Wolves, trying to dictate the tempo of the play with their passing skills, tenacity and reading of the game. Joao Moutinho should again find himself in an advanced midfield role from where he will look to act as a bridge between midfield and attack.
Boubacar Traore will offer cover for midfield positions from the bench.
Attack
Lopetegui could ring some changes to his attacking unit against Villa. Diego Costa could make way for Hwang Hee-chan, while Adama Traore gets an opportunity to start on the right flank after his impactful substitute appearance against Man United.
Daniel Podence will try to give a good account of himself from the left wing, as Wolves look to find a way to score goals and beat Villa in midweek.