Aston Villa vs Wolves tips and predictions: Back Villa to fly out of the traps

The size of the rivalry between Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers is often overstated, but there will surely be a derby day atmosphere at Villa Park.

Notably, the away team has excelled in this fixture over the years, with the hosts winning eight of 22 meetings since the turn of the century.

Gary O’Neil’s side is playing well but they’ll be without Hee-Chan Hwang, Pedro Neto and potentially Matheus Cunha for Saturday’s game.

That severely hampers their style and ability to pounce on the break, so we expect the Villans to buck the trend and return to winning ways.

The bookmakers seem to agree as Unai Emery’s side are a paper-thin 4/7 at the time of writing, which is a price that offers no value.

Backing a win to nil is always a potential angle in fixtures with a rivalry, but Wolves have scored in 23 of 28 matches this season.

On the other hand, Villa have found the net in 34 of 37 at home and haven’t failed to score in back-to-back games for two years.

Nathan Fraser could cut an isolated figure in attack but Pablo Sarabia has been a driving force for O’Neil’s side and will create chances in this match.

Notably, first-half goals have been a trend for both teams. There have been 10 in Villa’s last five at home and 16 in Wolves’ last eight.

Planet Sport Bet offer: Villa v Wolves  - £20, get £5 free bet if Ollie Watkins scores the first match goal

 

Team news

Emi Buendia, Tyrone Mings and Boubacar Kamara are unavailable due to injury.

John McGinn is suspended so Belgium’s two-goal hero Youri Tielemans should partner Douglas Luiz in midfield.

Pedro Neto and Hee-Chan Hwang are ruled out while Matheus Cunha, Craig Dawson and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde are doubtful.

 

Key stats

- Aston Villa won 15 straight home matches in 2023 but have lost three of four in 2024
- There have been over 2.5 goals in Aston Villa’s last five home matches
- The home team in this fixture has won eight of 22 meetings this century
- Wolves are unbeaten in four of five away games
- There have been over 2.5 goals in nine of Wolves’ last 12 matches

 

Suggested bets

First-half winner: Aston Villa

First-half goals: Over 1.5

Both teams to score

Over 3.5 goals