JULEN LOPETEGUI has made a decent start in the dugout at Wolverhampton Wanderers and continues his quest to drag them clear of the Premier League drop zone with a Midlands derby at Aston Villa.
After a 2-1 win at Everton in his first game in charge, the former Spain boss came within a whisker of taking a point from Manchester United, only for Marcus Rashford to bring up both bets for our man Mark by grabbing a late winner.
That defeat left Wolves sitting second bottom of the table and it's easy to see where the problem lays, with just 10 goals scored in 17 league games, the worst record in England's top flight.
Lopetegui should make them easier on the eye but it's all about results in a relegation dogfight and Wolves will need to roll up their sleeves for a derby scrap.
A change of manager has worked wonders for Aston Villa's survival prospects, with Unai Emery moving them to the safety of midtable since replacing Steven Gerrard.
Villa have won four of their seven games since Gerrard's departure and beat Spurs on the road on Sunday to move seven points clear of danger.
Emery always looked like a canny appointment by Aston Villa and if he can outwit his fellow Spaniard in this Midlands derby it will give him the platform to make a push for a European place.
How the bookies view it
Aston Villa are odds-on with most firms but you can still back them at evens with Betfred. The draw pays 27/10 at SpreadEx while Coral price a Wolverhampton Wanderers win at 16/5.
Recent head to head
Wolves have held the upper hand in this fixture of late, losing just one of the last six meetings. Four of those matches have ended in wins, including both games last season. Ruben Neves hit a last-gasp winner in a 3-2 thriller at Villa Park before Wolves won 2-1 back at Molineux.
Players to watch
Emery has put his faith in Ollie Watkins and it has paid off with the striker scoring twice in his last three outings. Watkins is 11/5 with Bet365 for anytime scorer which looks decent value.
Wolves continue to lack punch up front and it will be interesting to see if Diego Costa or Raul Jimenez starts up front. Their best hope for a goal could come from a Ruben Neves free-kick or shot from distance. The Portuguese playmaker is 17/2 with Paddy Power for anytime scorer.
Anything else catch the eye?
Going for goals paid off for me when Aston Villa hosted Liverpool and this fixture produced plenty of thrills last season. It's risky betting on thrills given Wolves' lack of goals but over 2.5 strikes still stands a chance at 11/10 with SBK.
This can be a fiery fixture and 12 yellows were flashed across the two meetings last season. That came after Mike Dean showed nine yellows and two reds in one derby back in 2020 so backing a busy day for the ref could pay off.
Tyrone Mings was booked for Aston Villa at the weekend so the evens on offer at Unibet for him to commit over 0.5 fouls looks great value. The same firm also price over 4.5 cards at 19/20 but I'm more drawn to the 6/5 on offer at Bet365 for over 2.5 Wolves cards.
This English Premier League match between Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers will be played on Jan 4, 2023 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Aston Villa vs Wolverhampton Wanderers prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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