Looking to continue their upward momentum in the 2024/25 campaign, Aston Villa host Wolves in the Premier League on Saturday.
It’s been an excellent start to the season for Aston Villa, who have secured three wins from four in the league and marked their return to the Champions League with a 3-0 victory over Young Boys.
Now, Unai Emery’s men await a struggling Wolves side in the West Midlands derby, with Gary O’Neil’s troops only collecting one point from their opening matches.
Villa will be targeting this game as a must-win in their pursuit of another top four finish while Wolves will be keen to pull off an upset at Villa Park.
Chris Sutton agrees with Paul Merson that Aston Villa will beat Wolves this weekend but Emery will know not to take his opponents for granted.
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Aston Villa team news vs Wolves
Villa collected no fresh injury concerns following their midweek triumph over Young Boys as the Spaniard provided an update ahead of Saturday’s clash.
During the match at the Wankdorf Stadium, Ollie Watkins was spotted icing his ankle but Emery confirmed Watkins is fully fit on Friday despite encountering some ‘problems’.
“He’s available 100 per cent to play. He had some problems, like other players, but not relevant. He’s now available tomorrow 100 per cent to play,” Emery said.
The Aston Villa tactician also revealed that Tyrone Mings is now consistently training with the first team as he pushes closer to a place in the squad.
A similar update was shared on midfielder Boubacar Kamara, who has been out of action since damaging his ACL in February’s defeat to Manchester United, with Emery confirming that he’s been training every day since last week.
Aston Villa predicted XI vs Wolves
Emi Martinez is inarguably the first name on the team sheet at Aston Villa as the Argentine lines up against his former club on Saturday.
There could be two changes to the back four as Ian Maatsen makes his home debut in place of Lucas Digne, who has impressed this season.
However, Digne did play ninety minutes on Tuesday and Emery could see this as an opportunity to hand Maatsen his first competitive start while resting the £25 million man.
As for the rest of the defence, Lamare Bogarde could drop out after struggling against Young Boys with Ezri Konsa moving to right back and Diego Carlos partnering Pau Torres.
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Youri Tielemans, the Man of the Match from the win in midweek, is blossoming into one of Villa’s most crucial players alongside Belgium teammate Amadou Onana.
Although Leon Bailey returned to the squad against Young Boys following injury, the Jamaican could remain on the bench with Jacob Ramsey impressing.
Ramsey will continue alongside John McGinn, Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins – even if Emery did say Jhon Duran was ‘close’ to starting.
