Aston Villa Vs Wolves Preview
10 days that could shape our season.
Can we give Liverpool a run for their money in the FA Cup? Will we overcome Forest to make it to the semi-finals of the League Cup for the first time since I don’t know when? Do we dare do anything but win the relegation six-pointer against West Ham?
Before all that though, there’s the small matter of the local derby that isn’t a local derby.
Or should we call it the Spanish Inquisition?
El Classico?
No? Fair enough.
Villa
Three wins in four league matches is a brilliant start for Unai Emery. Even in the game they lost to Liverpool, they squandered a lot of good opportunities.
Beating Spurs at the weekend was a statement result and they’ll rightly come into this game as strong favourites.
An advantage they hold over Wolves is multiple players that get forward, create opportunities and score goals. Ings, Watkins, Bailey, Luiz and Buendia all carry a threat and it’s no surprise they’ve scored nine goals more than us.
Worryingly, they’ve looked tighter defensively too since Emery came on board, particularly against Spurs who struggled to create anything.
A top 8 finish is probably a realistic ambition for this season and they’ll hope to go well in the FA Cup, starting with a favourable home tie against Stevenage at the weekend.
Wolves
Matheus Cunha is eligible to play so does Lopetegui throw the Brazilian straight into the action?
He can play out wide or through the middle so that increases his chances of making an immediate jump to the starting XI.
I think Diego Costa has given the attack much-needed physical presence despite his form in front of goal being dire to non-existent.
And whatever your criticism of his efforts might be, Wolves still aren’t creating chances in open play so the whole team need to improve their output if we’re to consistently pick up results.
I’d like to see Boubacar in the midfield to give us more bite and energy. I think we’re too static with Neves and Moutinho, which goes a long way to explaining why we don’t score many goals playing in this system.
Predictions
Well done to Ben Rasmin, who was the only person to correctly predict the scoreline in the defeat to Man Utd on Saturday.
Rich remains a point clear at the top of the overall table at the end of Gameweek 17.
As always, if you’d like to join in with the Prediction League this season, it’s simple – just leave your prediction in the comment section below using the boxes provided. Then repeat for every preview article throughout the season, making sure you always use the same email address to make your prediction. Your email is what ties you to your overall score.
You can read my prediction for the game in the comment section below.
Up The Wolves!