Aston Villa seek a fifth straight win on Sunday afternoon as they welcome Wolverhampton Wanderers to Villa Park, with kick-off scheduled for 2:05pm.
Unai Emery’s side return home after back-to-back victories over Leeds United and BSC Young Boys since the international break, adding to earlier triumphs against AFC Bournemouth and Maccabi Tel Aviv. Villa, currently fourth in the Premier League, face a Wolves outfit now led by newly appointed boss Rob Edwards.
Wolves sit bottom of the table and remain without a league win this season. Their first match under Edwards ended in a 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace at Molineux last weekend.
Stats
Morgan Rogers has contributed to five goals in his last seven league appearances for Villa (three goals, two assists). His brace against Leeds was his first in the top flight, and he also netted his maiden direct free-kick.
No Wolves player has scored more than once across their 12 league fixtures. Only four sides in top-flight history have waited longer for a player to bag a second goal in a campaign: Bradford City (15 games, 2000/01), Huddersfield Town (13, 2018/19), Tottenham (13, 2006/07) and Wimbledon (13, 1994/95).
Villa lead the Premier League in goals scored from outside the box this season (eight, including two free-kicks). Remarkably, their long-range tally exceeds Wolves’ total number of goals (seven).
Wolves are winless in 16 league games (D3, L13), losing their last five. It’s their longest drought since a 17-match run between 2012 and 2018, which includes the last time they lost six straight in a single season (seven in March–April 2012).
Villa have claimed six wins from their last seven league matches, rising from 18th to 4th in the table.
Wolves’ two-point haul from 12 games is the third-lowest total at this stage of a top-flight season, behind only Manchester United in 1930/31 (0) and Sheffield United in 2020/21 (1).
Villa have lost only one of their last 24 league games at home (W15, D8), that defeat coming in a 3-0 loss to Crystal Palace in August.
Villa have won all four of their Premier League fixtures following European midweek action this season—the only team with a perfect record.
Wolves managed just one win in 14 top-flight meetings with Villa between 1980 and 2012, but since both clubs returned to the Premier League in 2019, Wolves have won six of 12 encounters.
Villa have taken the points in their last two home league matches against Wolves, having previously won just one in nine at Villa Park (D5, L3).
The last meeting between the teams ended in disappointment for Villa as they fell 2-0 at Molineux on February 1 last season. Jean-Ricner Bellegarde opened the scoring after 12 minutes before Matheus Cunha sealed the result deep into stoppage time.
Team News
Tyrone Mings is expected to remain Villa’s only absentee as he continues his recovery, with Emery estimating he is still about a month away from returning. Andrés García is available again after being named on the bench in Thursday’s Europa League tie.
For Wolves, Edwards says the match will come “probably too soon” for Matt Doherty, who has only just resumed training. Dan Bentley and Rodrigo Gomes also remain sidelined.
Managers’ Thoughts
“Villa Park is our fortress with our supporters, and hopefully on Sunday we can demand the same level we’ve shown recently.”
— Unai Emery
“I’m hopeful we can get that first win straight away in a big game like this, but Villa Park is a very tough place for anyone to go.”
— Rob Edwards
