It’s derby day in the West Midlands as Wolves travel to Aston Villa in the Premier League. Aston Villa are without Jack Grealish for the fourth successive league game, and his loss is Wolves’ gain – Villa are far less potent in front of goal when Grealish is not on the pitch. Dean Smith should also be worried about the absence of Matty Cash, who has a hamstring injury and will be replaced Ahmed Elmohamady. The Egyptian could be targeted by Wolves’ dynamic wingers, Pedro Neto and Adama Traore, as the visitors aim to exploit their rivals’ weaknesses.
After such an impressive start to the season, Villa are in danger of finishing the season poorly as injuries – and poor results – build-up. They lost their last fixture to 10-man, bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United on Wednesday night. In terrible form themselves at one stage, Wolves have turned it around recently and were unbeaten in five league matches before they visited Manchester City in mid-week. Nuno’s men gave Pep Guardiola’s champions-elect a good game, but were ultimately overwhelmed late, conceding three goals in the final 15 minutes to lose 4-1. Wolves will feel that they can come away with a result at Villa Park, as Villa have won just one of their last six home league games against their Midland rivals.
Follow all the latest updates from the game below.
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