Aston Villa vs Wolves: Premier League preview, team news, stats, predictions, kick-off time

Team news, stats and prediction ahead of Aston Villa vs Wolves in the Premier League on Saturday; kick-off 3pm.

Team news

Aston Villa duo Emi Martinez and Douglas Luiz will be assessed ahead of the visit of Wolves.

Martinez played in Argentina's win over Peru on Friday, with Luiz coming off the bench in Brazil's 4-1 victory against Uruguay, and they will be the last of Villa's internationals to return.

Leon Bailey (hamstring) is out and Bertrand Traore (thigh) will be assessed, while Keinan Davis and Morgan Sanson are back in training, although the game is likely to come too soon for the pair. Trezeguet (knee) is a long-term absentee.

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Francisco Trincao is out for Wolves as he continues to self-isolate after testing positive for Covid-19.

The on-loan Barcelona forward was diagnosed while on international duty with Portugal.

Pedro Neto and Jonny (both knee) remain out along with Yerson Mosquera after he had surgery on a hamstring injury.

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How to follow

Follow Aston Villa vs Wolves in our dedicated live match blog. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel from 5.15pm on Saturday.

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Last time out...

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Jones Knows' prediction

A fine margin game that reinforces what a tough gig it is predicting Premier League matches. Both teams are trending upwards in terms of their results but creating good quality chances and taking them seems to be an issue for both looking at their expected goals data, especially for Wolves. Despite winning two of their last three matches, they haven't posted an expected goals figure above 1.00, which suggests a slight overperformance. On that basis, I'll side with a narrow Villa win with no confidence whatsoever.

Since switching to a back three and encouraging their wing-backs in Matt Targett and Matty Cash to play more aggressively, Villa's corner count is seeing a sharp increase. In their last four fixtures against tough opponents like Tottenham, Manchester United, Everton and Chelsea, they have averaged 7.25 corners per 90 minutes. I'd expect them to enjoy plenty of territorial advantage in this encounter and Wolves are averaging 5.5 corners against since Bruno Lage took charge. I'd be surprised if Villa don't win at least six corners, which can be backed at Evens with Sky Bet. But for those that like a bigger price, the eight or more corners at 100/30 or even 10 or more corners a 9/1 is worth a look. They did win 11 corners at Chelsea after all.

SCORE PREDICTION: 1-0

BETTING ANGLE: Aston Villa to win six or more corners (Evens with Sky Bet)

Opta stats

• Aston Villa have won just one of their last seven home league games against Wolves (D4 L2), winning 4-1 in a Championship match in March 2018.
• Wolves have won four of their last seven league meetings with Aston Villa (D1 L2), more than they had in their previous 27 against the Villans (W3 D10 L14).
• Aston Villa are unbeaten in their last five Premier League home games (W3 D2), with the Villans last having a longer run without defeat at home in the top-flight between April and October 2011 (8 games).
• Wolves have won three of their last four Premier League games (L1), as many as they had in their previous 16 in the competition. They're looking for three consecutive top-flight wins for the first time since June 2020, the third game of which was a 1-0 victory at Villa Park.
• Wolves are looking to secure three consecutive away league wins for the first time since June 2020, while the last time they won three in a row on the road without conceding in the top-flight was back in March 1960.
• Wolves have scored six goals fewer than their expected goals total would suggest, giving them the biggest negative difference between goals scored (5) and xG (11) in the competition this term.
• Both Aston Villa (8/10) and Wolves (4/5) have scored 80% of their Premier League goals this season in the second half of games, with only Crystal Palace netting a higher share after the interval (88%). However, Wolves have conceded fewer goals after half-time than any other Premier League side this term (1).
• Aston Villa keeper Emiliano Martínez has kept a clean sheet in all three of his Premier League games against Wolves. They're the side he's started against the most in the competition with a 100% clean sheet record.
• Wolves' Trincão has the highest expected goals total of any player yet to score in the Premier League this season (2.4), with the Portuguese registering 15 shots without success so far (7 on target).
• In his first five Premier League games this season, Wolves' Raúl Jiménez had 14 shots and 15 chances created, but no goals or assists to his name. However, the Mexican has now been involved in each of Wolves' last three league goals, scoring once (3 shots) and assisting twice (4 chances created).

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