Premier League: Villa Can Extend Their Streak Against the Toothless Wolves

Aston Villa vs Wolverhampton Wanderers

Aston Villa will get another chance to remind everyone why they’re one of the dark horse contenders for this season’s Premier League title when they head back home to Villa Park to host the Wolves on Saturday.

Unai Emery’s men are fifth in the table with nine points. Save for their early loss against Arsenal, the Villans have won their other four matches across all competitions.

On the other hand, the Wolves are off to a slow start because of their lacklustre run of Premier League 2024 results so far this season. With three losses and one draw, Gary O’Neil’s side is currently in 18^th place.

Wolves were also eliminated early in the third round of the EFL Cup last night by Brighton, so you can only imagine how low their confidence is.

 

Talking Points

Aston Villa flex their depth

Before the start of this season, there were valid questions about Aston Villa’s capability to cope with a grueling schedule because of their domestic and European commitments. However, it has been so far so good for them.

A productive summer transfer window saw them get rid of a lot of deadwood, and they also bolstered their depth with their clever additions.

Amadou Onana has been a rock in midfield alongside Youri Tielemans (acquired via free transfer last year), while Lamare Bogarde has taken over the starting right-back spot for the time being.

And fortunately for Aston Villa, only three players have caught the injury bug (Tyrone Mings, Matty Cash, and Boubacar Kamara), so Unai Emery still has the luxury to rotate his lineup as they play a match every three to four days.

Aston Villa currently have two in-form strikers he can choose, as Ollie Watkins and Jhon Duran have combined for five goals and two assists so far across all competitions.

Because Watkins started in their 3-0 win against Young Boys in the Champions League last night, Duran might get the starting nod against Wolves this weekend.

Emi Buendia and Leon Bailey could also contend for starting XI spots after they were given the night off against Young Boys.

 

Wolves are lacking at the back

In contrast, Gary O’Neil has a different headache altogether, as he could miss 10 players in their upcoming visit at Villa Park on Saturday.

Most of the Wolves’ absentees are from their backline and in midfield, which explains why they’re conceding goals left and right. This season, Wolves have already surrendered 14 goals.

Boubacar Traore (knee), Rayan Ait-Nouri (knee), Andre (calf), Nelson Semedo (calf), Craig Dawson (undisclosed), Yerson Mosquera (calf), and Toti Gomes (thigh) are listed as questionable, while Enso Medina (knee), Sasa Kalajdzic (knee), and Bastien Meupiyou (undisclosed) are expected to be sidelined this weekend.

The Wolves haven’t been that good in the final third either, as Hwang Hee-Chan and Pablo Sarabia have yet to open their accounts this season. Goncalo Guedes has been the bright spot so far with three goals.

 

History

Aston Villa will aim to beat Wolves for the second straight league matchup in a row for the first time since 2003-04. In their previous meeting in March, the Villans won 2-0 at home, as Moussa Diaby and Ezri Konsa found the back of the net.

If Aston Villa win again on Saturday, it’ll mark the fourth time ever that they’ve won four of their first five Premier League matches to start their campaign (1998-99, 2009-10, and 2020-21).

Wolves have only lost one of their last five Premier League away games against Aston Villa (D2, L2), although they have won just one of their last 14 Premier League games (D3, L10) and are winless in seven (D1, L6) since beating Luton Town 2-1 in April.

 

Betting Tip

The Premier League 2024 odds have the hosts taking all three points from this weekend’s contest at Villa Park. Aston Villa are 1.54 favourites, whereas Wolves are 4.85 underdogs, and a draw is at 4.03 in the 1X2 market.

Given the way they’re playing lately, the Villans should easily outscore the Wolves by at least two goals. So, other than our recommended bet above, SBOTOP bettors might also consider going for other options like Over 2.75 at 1.73 or Total Goal 2-3 at 2.02.

A Correct Score of 2-0 in the Villans’ favour – the result of their last league meeting – is on offer at 8.60. Meanwhile, a low-scoring win or draw for Wolves (Correct Scores of 0-0 or 0-1) could give you a payout of at least 17.00.

   

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