Wolves vs Aston Villa preview, team news, kick-off, prediction

Team news and stats ahead of Wolves vs Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday (kick-off 12.30pm).

Team news

Wolves take on Aston Villa still waiting on a timeframe for when Raul Jimenez can return from a fractured skull suffered earlier this month.

The striker is out of hospital after surgery and visited the club's training ground this week having suffered the injury in a clash of heads with David Luiz at Arsenal.

Wing-back Jonny remains sidelined with the serious knee injury he sustained at the end of last season.

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Ross Barkley is making progress in his recovery from injury but the Villa midfielder will not be fit in time for the trip to Molineux.

The 27-year-old, on a season-long loan from Chelsea, suffered a hamstring injury early in the home defeat to Brighton last month but defender Bjorn Engels is back in contention after a long lay-off with a thigh injury.

The game is likely to come too soon for Keinan Davis (ankle) but Tom Heaton is closing in on a return having been out since January with a serious knee injury although Wesley (knee) remains sidelined until next year.

How to follow

Follow Wolves vs Aston Villa in our dedicated live match blog. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.

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Jones Knows prediction

Expect fireworks down one side of the pitch in this one. It's the Adama Traore vs Jack Grealish show.

Wolves' recent switch to a back four is allowing much more service into Traore down their right side - his influence is starting to rise again, ably supported by full-back Nelson Semedo, whose pace and direct dribbling creates a nice dovetail with Traore when given space to attack.

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Villa should provide them with that platform to play on the counter as Matt Targett at full-back is usually left quite exposed with the excellent Grealish given licence to do his thing down that side. Dean Smith's side are the most improved team in the Premier League this season and know how to win away. However, it's hard to back a Villa success though due to Wolves' very consistent record at playing non 'big six' teams at Molineux. They haven't lost in their 23 fixtures against teams of such definition, winning 13 and drawing 10.

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Whoever out of Grealish or Traore manages to find the better quality with their final ball will probably decide which way this one goes.

I'm happy to keep the draw on side.

JONES KNOWS PREDICTS: 1-1 (11/2 with Sky Bet)

Opta stats

• Wolves won both Premier League meetings with Aston Villa last season - they last won three league games in a row against the Villans between 1957 and 1960 (a run of seven).
• After an 11-game unbeaten away run against Wolves in all competitions between 1978 and 2012 (W7 D4), Aston Villa have lost each of their last three visits to Molineux.
• Wolves have conceded fewer home goals than any other side in the Premier League this season (5). Indeed, they've kept eight clean sheets in their last 12 Premier League games at Molineux.
• Aston Villa have won three of their last four Premier League away games, though they did lose their last such match at West Ham (1-2). The Villans had won just three of their previous 40 on the road in the competition (D8 L29).
• Following an unbeaten run of eight Premier League games, Aston Villa have now lost four of their last five in the competition (W1), conceding at least twice in each defeat.
• Wolves have conceded 3+ goals in three of their 11 Premier League games so far this season, already more than they had in the whole of the 2019-20 campaign (2).
• Aston Villa have scored in 12 of their last 13 Premier League games, netting 25 goals in total. They had failed to score in six of their last eight prior to this run, with their previous 25 league goals coming over a period of 27 games.
• Wolves manager Nuno Espírito Santo has lost just two of his 16 home Premier League meetings with English managers (W9 D5), remaining unbeaten in his last nine such games since a 2-5 loss against Frank Lampard's Chelsea last season.

Pitch to Post Preview podcast

This week on the Pitch to Post Preview Podcast, Peter Smith is joined by Sky Sports News reporters James Cooper and Ben Ransom to discuss the Manchester derby, including whether David de Gea will be dropped, why John Stones is back in the City side, and how it could all play out.

Their colleague Michael Bridge is on the line to discuss Crystal Palace vs table-toppers Tottenham, plus Sky Sports Data Editor Adam Smith has the numbers behind Arsenal's attack and Liverpool's strength in depth - as well as his Pitch for what will happen in the Premier League this weekend!

Listen to the Sky Sports Pitch to Post Podcast on: Spotify | Apple | Castbox

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