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Fresh from beginning their Champions League journey with success in Switzerland, Aston Villa return to Premier League duty on Saturday, when they welcome local rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers to Villa Park.
While Villa were cruising to victory in Europe, Wolves were eliminated from the EFL Cup in midweek, continuing their miserable start to the season.
Match preview
© Imago
After four decades of waiting, Aston Villa were back at Europe's top table on Tuesday, as they travelled to Bern for a Champions League meeting with Swiss Super League champions Young Boys and came away with maximum points.
Having taken time to adapt to the synthetic pitch at Stadion Wankdorf, first-half goals from Youri Tielemans and Jacob Ramsey then put the Villans in charge, and two more finishes were ruled out by the VAR for handball before Amadou Onana sealed the deal with a superb 30-yard strike.
That made it three wins on the spin for Unai Emery's men, who had fought back to beat Everton three days earlier, with star striker Ollie Watkins scoring twice to level the game before super-sub Jhon Duran struck a spectacular winner.
Villa have won three of their four Premier League games so far, losing to likely title contenders Arsenal, and only three times before have the Birmingham club won as many as four of their first five.
Undoubtedly, Emery will be targeting that feat as a packed schedule continues apace: his side face Wycombe Wanderers in the EFL Cup next week, shortly before reconvening with fellow 1982 European Cup finalists Bayern Munich.
However, he will be acutely aware of Villa's shortcomings at Villa Park since the end of 2023. Between March of last year and Christmas, they conceded just eight goals in 16 Premier League home games; since then, they have shipped 26 in 12 - and at least two in each of the last four.
© Imago
While Wolves were beaten 2-0 in the teams' last league meeting, they have actually lost just one of their last five league games at Villa Park before making the short trip across the West Midlands this weekend.
There are precious few other good omens for Gary O'Neil and co to cling onto, as they have won just one of their last 14 Premier League fixtures stretching back to the end of last season, losing on no fewer than 10 occasions.
That represents the Wolverhampton club's worst run for over two years, and since the start of March they have also earned fewer points (nine) than any other current top-flight side.
They now occupy 18th place in the table with just a single point so far this term - only newcomers Southampton and crisis club Everton sit below them.
Wolves have conceded a league-high three goals from outside the box, after succumbing to two-long range strikes in last week's 2-1 defeat to Newcastle United, so they may well be wary of pot-shots from the likes of Tielemans and Duran.
There was to be no midweek relief for O'Neil on Wednesday, as his team exited the EFL Cup to Brighton & Hove Albion. With goals from Goncalo Guedes and Tommy Doyle not enough to prevent defeat at the Amex, he will be desperate to start turning things around on Saturday.
Aston Villa Premier League form:
Aston Villa form (all competitions):
Wolverhampton Wanderers Premier League form:
Wolverhampton Wanderers form (all competitions):
Team News
© Imago
Leon Bailey was not risked on Young Boys' plastic pitch in midweek, but Aston Villa's Jamaican winger may be involved this weekend - most likely from the bench.
Unai Emery has suggested that Ollie Watkins should be fit enough to feature, after the England striker was seen with ice applied to his ankle after being substituted in Switzerland.
Watkins has been involved in seven goals in his last six home games, but Jhon Duran is an able deputy if required. The latter has scored the winner in each of Villa's league victories this season - all three as a substitute - and also had a stunning strike chalked off by the VAR on Tuesday: no-one has ever scored four winning goals from the bench in one season throughout Premier League history.
Once again, long-term absentees Boubacar Kamara and Tyrone Mings - both of whom returned to full training earlier this month - join Matty Cash on the sidelines.
Meanwhile, Wolves made some 10 changes to their team for Wednesday's EFL Cup clash, with only Joao Gomes retained from the side that started against Newcastle.
Gary O'Neil will now recall his main men, with Matheus Cunha and Jorgen Strand Larsen set to join forces up front, while Sam Johnstone should replace Jose Sa in goal.
Toti Gomes, who scored Wolves' winner against Villa last year, has overcome a hamstring strain; however, Craig Dawson and Rayan Ait-Nouri may miss out. Sasa Kalajdzic, Enso Gonzalez and Boubacar Traore are all unavailable.
Aston Villa possible starting lineup:
Martinez; Nedeljkovic, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Onana, Tielemans; McGinn, Ramsey, Rogers; Watkins
Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Johnstone; Semedo, Mosquera, Bueno, Toti; Bellegarde, J. Gomes, Lemina, R. Gomes; Cunha; Larsen
We say: Aston Villa 2-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Goals should be guaranteed, as Aston Villa are particularly potent on home turf and Wolves cannot stop conceding. Buoyed by their big win last time out, Villa can ride the wave of momentum and see off their ailing local rivals.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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