Aston Villa vs Wolverhampton Wanderers

Villa Park forms the backdrop for an all-West Midlands Premier League encounter between Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Aston Villa’s quest to secure a top-four finish in the Premier League for the first time in the 21st century suffered back-to-back blows before the international break. After a humiliating 4-0 home loss to direct rivals Tottenham, Unai Emery’s side could only manage a 1-1 draw at West Ham, barely preserving a three-point lead on fifth-placed Spurs. The Spanish manager must galvanize Villa’s home form to increase their chances of fending off Tottenham after overseeing three defeats in the last four Premier League matches at Villa Park (W1). Worryingly for Emery, the Lions have notoriously struggled in this fixture against fellow West Midlands foes, going winless in the last four H2Hs they’ve hosted (D2, L2) while netting under 1.5 goals on three occasions.

Indeed, Villa Park has been a happy hunting ground for Wolverhampton as they last lost a Premier League game at this venue in 2003 (W3, D4). Before slumping to a dismal 3-0 defeat at Newcastle United on their most recent top-flight travel, Wolves had won three consecutive away league matches via an aggregate score of 8-3. That streak has gone a long way to solidifying the visitors’ place in the upper half of the table, but it’s not all rosy. Gary O’Neil’s men shockingly conceded twice in second-half stoppages en route to losing the FA Cup quarter-final 3-2 to Coventry. O’Neil will expect a response from his side as they bid to win two consecutive Premier League fixtures for the second time in 2024 following a 2-1 home triumph against Fulham in the previous round.