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NederlandBoth Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers will both be looking to bounce back from defeats when they lock horns at Villa Park in the Premier League on Saturday evening.
Villa will enter the contest off the back of a surprise 1-0 defeat to bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United, while Wolves suffered a 4-1 loss to runaway leaders Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
Match preview
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Villa's top-six hopes took a hit on Wednesday as they went down 1-0 at Sheffield United, with David McGoldrick's first-half effort proving to be the difference between the two sides at Bramall Lane.
A total of 39 points from 25 matches has left Dean Smith's side in ninth position in the table, level on points with eighth-placed Tottenham Hotspur and four points behind sixth-placed Liverpool, with a game in hand on the Reds, although the gap could be more by the time that the home side take to the field for this match.
Villa have won 12 league games this season, which is the same as Chelsea and Liverpool ahead of Thursday's fixtures, but they have lost 10 times, which is high considering their position in the table.
Smith's team will now be looking for back-to-back wins against Wolves and Newcastle United ahead of a home game with Tottenham on March 21, and it will be fascinating to see whether they are capable of finishing in a potential Europa League spot, which would represent an excellent season.
Villa, who have won five, drawn one and lost five of their home 11 league games this term, recorded a 1-0 victory when they travelled to Molineux for the reverse game back in December.
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Wolves, meanwhile, will enter Saturday's contest off the back of a 4-1 defeat at Man City; the two sides were actually level heading into the final 10 minutes, but Pep Guardiola's side scored three times in the latter stages at the Etihad Stadium to continue their sensational winning run.
Nuno Espirito Santo's side have only lost one of their last six in the league - beating Southampton and Leeds United in two of their last four - while they drew 1-1 with Newcastle United last weekend.
Wolves have thus far not been able to challenge for a Europa League spot this season, but they are an improving side and currently sit just five points behind Villa, although Smith's side have two games in hand over their opponents here.
The 2017-18 Championship winners have also found it difficult on their travels this season, winning just four of their 14 matches and suffering seven defeats; that said, they recorded a 1-0 win at Villa Park when they travelled to Villa at the end of the 2019-20 campaign.
Aston Villa Premier League form: LWDLWL
Wolverhampton Wanderers Premier League form: WDWWDL
Wolverhampton Wanderers form (all competitions): DLWWDL
Team News
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Villa will again be without the services of Kortney Hause and Matty Cash this weekend through injury, while Wesley will also not be involved despite recently returning to full-contact training.
Jack Grealish was again absent against Sheffield United on Wednesday night as he battles a shin problem, and the England international is also unlikely to be available for selection here, meaning that Anwar El Ghazi should retain his spot in the side.
Smith is expected to make changes from the side that started against Sheffield United, with Douglas Luiz and Ross Barkley coming back in, but Ollie Watkins will again operate at the tip of the attack.
As for Wolves, Nuno is expected to have the same squad available from the Man City game, with Fernando Marcal, Raul Jimenez and Daniel Podence all still on the sidelines through injury.
Willy Boly was back on the bench against the league leaders and is now in contention to start, but Leander Dendoncker could retain his spot at the back alongside Conor Coady and Romain Saiss.
Willian Jose was left out of the XI against the Citizens but should return to the side here, with Ki-Jana Hoever likely to drop out, and Adama Traore and Pedro Neto are set to continue in the final third.
Aston Villa possible starting lineup:
Martinez; Elmohamady, Konsa, Mings, Targett; Luiz, McGinn; Traore, Barkley, El Ghazi; Watkins
Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Patricio; Dendoncker, Coady, Saiss; Semedo, Neves, Moutinho, Jonny; Traore, Willian Jose, Neto
We say: Aston Villa 1-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Villa will be determined to return to winning ways following a disappointing result against Sheffield United, but Wolves are certainly an improving team despite their heavy defeat at the Etihad Stadium; we are expecting a close contest on Saturday evening and are struggling to separate the two sides.
Top tip
Video prediction
Watch the Sports Mole Football Shorts prediction for this game below:
