Bruno Lage has urged Wolverhampton Wanderers not to let the international break upset their form.
They go to Villa on Saturday with three wins in their last four games which has lifted them to 12th in the Premier League
Wolves, who beat Newcastle 2-1 before the break, are a point behind their hosts and Lage wants his side to maintain their momentum.
“When you are in a competition you want to compete, when you lose you want the next game in a few days and when you’ve won it’s the same,” he said.
“We are doing well, some good performances and some good results. In the last two days we’ve reminded the players of what they did against Newcastle and put our minds to do the same against Aston Villa
“We know we are going to play against a strong opponent, maybe one of the best teams in the league because they invest a lot to try to arrive in a different position.
“Villa are one of the best; top players, top coach and a top club.
“We know it’s an important game, the rivals and derbies are important, the players want to win this kind of game. You know the meaning of the games for the fans.”
Francisco Trincao is out after catching Covid-19 while Pedro Neto and Jonny (both knee) along with Yerson Mosquera (hamstring) are out.
Lage added: “He (Trincao) is OK, he has started training, not with us but at home. We have done everything we can so when he comes back he will already have had some training.
“He didn’t feel well for two or three days but now everything is OK with him.”
