Aston Villa vs Wolves Preview: How to Watch on TV, Live Stream, Kick Off Time & Team News
Saturday's only Premier League games sees struggling Aston Villa host European hopefuls Wolves at Villa Park.
19th placed Villa have picked up two draws and a loss in their opening three post-lockdown games and, despite not scoring many, are looking more solid than before the break. However, they remain level on points with West Ham and Bournemouth in one of the tightest relegation scraps in recent years.
Wolves have collected two wins from two and look fit and focused as they keep the pressure on the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea in the hunt for a Champions League spot. They sit sixth, behind United on goal difference, but can leapfrog their rivals who are in FA Cup action with a win.
Where to Watch
When Is Kick Off? Saturday 27 June
What Time Is Kick Off? 12.30 (BST)
Where Is it Played? Villa Park
TV Channel/Live Stream? BT Sport (UK), FuboTV (US)
Referee? Craig Pawson
Team News
Villa boss Dean Smith has hinted he will make considerable changes for this match, with only two days in between Saturday's clash and the 1-1 draw with Newcastle on Wednesday.
Bjorn Engels is still out with an Achilles injury, while Danny Drinkwater is fit again after picking up an injury in a warm-up match. Frederic Guilbert has recovered from a knock but wasn't deemed fit enough to play against Newcastle, so is unlikely to play the full 90 minutes on Saturday.
Wolves have no such injury problems, with a fully fit squad to choose from, though Nuno Espirito Santo rarely dithers too much from his regular starting XI, even with the congested fixture list.
Exciting Portuguese youngster Pedro Neto may have done enough to keep his spot on the left after looking lively in both appearances off the bench thus far, but it's hard to see the Wolves coach making wholesale changes.
Predicted Lineups
Aston Villa: Nyland; Elmohamady, Hause, Mings, Targett; Douglas Luiz, McGinn, Nakamba; Trezeguet, Grealish, Davis.
Wolves: Patricio; Saiss, Coady, Boly; Doherty, Neves, Moutinho, Jonny; Traore, Neto, Jimenez.
Recent Form
Villa have looked relatively solid during the restart without putting down a marker to the other relegation threatened sides. A draw against Sheffield United on the first day back was impressive, and they could have taken something from the 2-1 loss to Chelsea on another day.
They improved against Newcastle with a resilient second half display and deserved the point they came away with.
Wolves have played one game less than Villa, but have looked more than comfortable in both. A convincing 2-0 away to West Ham was topped off by an absolute pearler from Neto, a goal which will surely be up for goal of the month.
A solid but unspectacular victory over Bournemouth at home followed, with the winner coming from the evergreen partnership of Adama Traore and Raul Jimenez. The powerful Spaniard raced to the touchline and whipped a bullet across the box for the tall Mexican to expertly head home a carbon copy of the goal he scored against West Ham.
Here are both sides' recent results in all competitions:
Aston Villa
Newcastle 1-1 Aston Villa (24/6)
Aston Villa 1-2 Chelsea (21/6)
Aston Villa 0-0 Sheffield United (17/6)
Leicester 4-0 Aston Villa (9/3)
Aston Villa 1-2 Manchester City (1/3)
Wolves
Wolves 1-0 Bournemouth (24/6)
West Ham 0-2 Wolves (20/6)
Olympiacos 0-0 Wolves (12/3)
Wolves 0-0 Brighton (7/3)
Tottenham 2-3 Wolves (1/3)
Prediction
Wolves' form on the road in recent games has been impressive and with the pace of Traore, nous of Jimenez, and marauding full backs Doherty and Jonny all contributing, it's easy to see why.
Villa will be buoyed by their display at Newcastle, knowing they have the fight to grind out results at this crucial stage of their season.
However, Wolves present a very different threat and if their attacking stars are on song, the Wanderers should pick up a straightforward win against the league's leakiest defence.
Prediction: Aston Villa 0-2 Wolves