Aston Villa went a goal down to Wolves early on, but battled back and got a late equalizer from Danny Ings to secure a point at Villa Park on Wednesday.
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Daniel Podence opened the scoring after just 12 minutes, when he slalomed past the Aston Villa defense and struck a perfectly placed ball just inside the far post. It was part of an all-around bright start from Wolves, who played quickly and confidently — a far cry from Bruno Lage’s tenure — under new boss Julen Lopetegui.
Aston Villa were hugely improved in the second half, though, and perhaps unlucky to still require the 78th-minute equalizer from Ings, as they amassed 1.52 xG in the second half (0.09 in the first half).
The victory sends Aston Villa (22 points) up one place in the Premier League table, into 11th. Wolves (14 points), meanwhile, move to within a point of safety in 17th place, but Lopetegui’s side still sits 19th behind West Ham (17th) and Everton (18th).
How to watch Aston Villa vs Wolves live, stream link and start time
Kick off: 3pm ET, WednesdayTV Channel: PeacockOnline: Stream via Peacock Premium
Key storylines
Emery has done a superb job to turn things around at Villa so quickly. They are organized defensively, love to spring counter attacks and they already have a clear identity and way of playing. It is quite remarkable he’s been able to do that so quickly.
Wolves look to have a very similar style of play to Villa and they are just lacking the firepower needed in attack. The loan signing of Matheus Cunha from Atletico Madrid should give them extra quality in the final third and defensively they’ve looked solid all season and Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho will always hold things down in midfield. Wolves just need an attacking spark from somewhere.
In-form players to keep an eye on
Ollie Watkins has been excellent for Villa, while Boubacar Kamara and Douglas Luiz have been exceptional in central midfield and John McGinn continues to be the heartbeat of this team.
It seems like Wolves captain Ruben Neves almost scores a screamer in every single game and his compatriot Jose Sa was superb against Manchester United. Wolves need to get Daniel Podence on the ball as much as possible as he’s getting back towards his best.
Aston Villa team news, injuries, lineup options
Villa are without long-term absentees Diego Carlos and Jacob Ramsey, while Emery will likely start the same team which won away at Spurs. However, World Cup winning goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez is likely to come back in and start in goal.
This is your Aston Villa team to face Wolves tonight. 👊#AVLWOL pic.twitter.com/iViXPmUH1c
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) January 4, 2023
Wolves team news, injuries, lineup options
Chiquinho (knee), Pedro Neto (ankle) and Sasa Kalajdzic (knee) remain out, while new striker Matheus Cunha could make his debut after his loan move from Atletico Madrid.
#AVLWOL pic.twitter.com/zHr1onvYlS
— Wolves (@Wolves) January 4, 2023