Aston Villa make the short-trip across the Midlands to face Gary O’Neil’s Wolverhampton Wanderers this Sunday. Here’s the latest heading into the upcoming game at Molineux…
Words by: Liam Davies
THE BUILD UP
The Villans enter game-week eight of the Premier League on the back of a dramatic game in the UEFA Europa Conference League on Thursday. Bosnian side HŠK Zrinjski Mostar were Villa’s second opponents in Group E, following the opening fixture away in Poland, and were looking to bounce back from the 3-2 defeat to Legia Warsaw.
It was a lacklustre, uninspiring first-half from Unai Emery’s side, with Zrinjski ‘keeper Marko Marić rarely tested throughout the first 45. A triple change at the break put some life into the hosts, however, and the claret and blue side were on the front foot throughout. Despite that, it took until the 94th minute for the deadlock to be broken, with captain John McGinn expertly nodding home Matty Cash’s cross to make it 1-0 and seal a first European group stage win at at Villa Park for 15 years.
Aston Villa fans were treated to more good news on Friday afternoon when it was announced that striker Ollie Watkins had signed a new contract with the club. The 27-year-old, who has recently been re-called to Gareth Southgate’s England, has seven goals to his name already this season, including two hat-tricks.
On his new deal, Watkins said: “I’m really happy. I feel like this is the best place for me to play my football; I’ve still got a lot to achieve here.”
“I feel like I’ve had a really good connection with the fans since I’ve come here. From day one they’ve been really good with me; we’ve had highs and lows but that’s football. You can see the direction of the club, and I want to be a part of that.”
Watkins will look to continue his goal-scoring form against Wolves this weekend; O’Neil’s side find themselves on the back of a terrific home victory over treble-winners Manchester City. The home side went a goal up inside 13 minutes when centre-half Rúben Dias put the ball into the back of his own net, before the inform Julian Álvarez equalised around the hour mark for the visitors.
South Korean forward Hwang Hee-chan would fire Wolves back in front just 10 minutes later for his fifth of the campaign and, despite plenty of late pressure from the Premier League champions, Wolves would hold on for a massive three points; a result that saw them rise to 15th in the table.
Last season, in this fixture, Wolves got the better of the Villans. Portuguese defender Toti bagged his first goal for the club in a 1-0 victory, extending the 2017/18’s EFL Championship winners impressive run over Aston Villa since their promotion back to the top flight in 2019.
Who will come out on top in this weekend’s West-Midlands derby? Will it be Unai Emery’s fifth-place Aston Villa or can Gary O’Neil’s Wolverhampton Wanderers make it two in two at Molineux?
TEAM NEWS
ASTON VILLA
Aston Villa midfielder Jacob Ramsey faces more time on the sidelines after a recurrence of the metatarsal injury that saw the 22-year-old miss pre-season and the beginning of the 2023/24 campaign.
The number 41 suffered the original injury during the U21 Euros in the summer and, despite recently completing a comeback that saw the play-maker bag his first goal of the term (versus Brighton), is expected to miss a further 6-8 weeks, as a result.
Head coach Unai Emery confirmed the news in Friday’s press conference. Speaking on Ramsey’s injury, Emery said: “Jacob Ramsey will need time again to recover his injury. He has an injury and he’s not going to be available.”
The Spanish boss also revealed that left-back Àlex Moreno is set to return to the side after the upcoming international break. Moreno arrived from Real Betis in January, but has yet to feature in claret and blue this season, after making a strong first impression during his first five months at the club.
On the number 15, Emery said: “Àlex Moreno was progressing, he was working with the team, he was doing training sessions, but he needed to stop because he wasn’t feeling good. Now, he’s feeling better and hopefully after the break he could be with the group, training every day.”
Elsewhere, French duo Boubacar Kamara and Moussa Diaby face a late fitness test ahead of Sunday’s game at Molineux, with the pair set to return to training today. Jamaican winger Leon Bailey completed his return from a hamstring injury in mid-week and is in contention to start against Wolves tomorrow.
Tyrone Mings and Emi Buendía remain unavailable, whilst Tim Ireogbunam returned to action for the U21s on Friday night.
WOLVES
Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Jean-Ricner Bellegarde is unavailable for the upcoming West-Midlands clash at Molineux. The Frenchmen received a red card for a kick-out on Luton Town’s Tom Lockyer in the penultimate Premier League game and is currently serving a three-match ban. The number 27 will return for Wolves’ trip to Bournemouth after the international break.
Gary O’Neil welcomes on-loan midfielder Tommy Doyle back this week, however. The 21-year-old was a part of the deal that saw Matheus Nunes move to the Etihad Stadium over the summer and was ineligible to play against his parent club Manchester City last time out. Doyle has yet to start a game in the Premier League for his new club and could therefore make his full home debut on Sunday.
Aside from Bellegarde’s absence, Wolves remain injury-free and O’Neil has a fully fit side for the upcoming fixture. Nélson Semedo, João Gomes and Pedro Neto are all expected to start tomorrow afternoon, alongside the likes of Max Kilman, Mario Lemina and Matheus Cunha.
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A BIT ON WOLVES…
Wolves have endured a relatively tricky start to the 2023/24 Premier League campaign and find themselves just above the relegation zone in 15th place after seven games played. The Wanderers began the campaign with consecutive defeats against Manchester United and Brighton & Hove Albion, before beating Everton away by a goal to nil. More losses would follow, with O’Neil’s side shipping six goals across two games against Crystal Palace and Liverpool which was followed up with a disappointing 1-1 draw at Kenilworth Road against Rob Edwards’ Luton.
Yet another defeat, this time in the Carabao Cup to EFL Championship side Ipswich Town, was next up and saw the West-Midlands side crash out in the round of sixteen, but last weekend’s victory has put a smile back on the faces of the Wolves faithful.
Manchester City are arguably the best team in the world and to take even a point from Pep Guardiola’s super team deserves respect. Gary O’Neil set his side up perfectly at Molineux last week and his side worked incredible hard to claim all three points on the day. Forward Pedro Neto, who was particularly impressive during the opening goal against the champions, has been electric and is Wolves, stand-out performer this season; the number seven has a goal and four assists to his name.
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Gary O’Neil recently praised the Portuguese winger for his performances so far this season, describing the 23-year-old as ‘a huge positive’.
Speaking on the former Lazio man ahead of tomorrow’s game, O’Neil said: “He’s worked extremely hard. It’s all him really, his commitment of what we’re trying to do, his understanding of the tactical stuff that we give him, his understanding of all the extras we do and how committed he is to them and wanting to improve, and just his work rate, his enthusiasm around the place, I’m delighted for him.”
Hwang Hee-chan has been another name that has impressed in gold and black this term, notching four goals in just over 300 minutes in the Premier League – the South Korean has been a revelation since O’Neil’s arrival at the beginning of the season. The former Bournemouth head coach took over from Julen Lopetegui in the summer, with the Spaniard leaving amidst financial and transfer difficulties.
Aston Villa’s Unai Emery believes tomorrow will bet yet another difficult fixture for his side and revealed his respect for the West-Midlands rivals. Speaking on Wolves, Emery said: “I haven’t won against Wolverhampton and some players here who’ve played the last few years didn’t win.
“We’re going to face on Sunday a very tough match. Every minute after the match yesterday I am thinking about how we can be competitive there, adding more possibilities to win.
“They are very competitive. I appreciate the coach as well because he is doing good work. Some players are in a good moment: Pedro Neto, Matheus Cunha.
“They are playing with three centre-backs, being strong and feeling good. It’s always hard to play away.”
Can Emery inspire his side to a first-in-six win against Wolves or will Gary O’Neil’s side extend their good run against the Villans?
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MY PREDICTED LINE-UP
Let’s take a look at my predicted line-up for this upcoming fixture…
Do you agree? Who makes your side? Share yours now and let’s discuss?
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