Wolves v Villa preview: Opportunity knocks in West Midlands derby battle

The latest instalment of the West Midlands derby is expected to have the same intense atmosphere and rivalry as previous years, but for Wolves this particular meeting has a lot more riding on it.

Local bragging rights are always up for grabs and Wolves fans would love nothing more than to go into work on Monday morning with a spring in their step, but this club has a much bigger target as they fight to stay in the Premier League.

Results elsewhere mean Wolves are back in the relegation zone and are starting to be cut adrift as a bottom four, as they are embroiled in a scrap with the three promoted teams.

One win could drag them closer to Everton and the teams above them and Wolves must address their recent slide to keep them in the mix.

Wolves have been here before when Julen Lopetegui was appointed in late 2022 to keep the club in the top flight, with them rock bottom of the table.

His first Premier League game was a late 2-1 win at Everton and in his first seven league games he picked up 13 points.

Wolves were relatively consistent in the months that followed and despite some poor results - like the 6-0 battering at Brighton and the 5-0 loss at Arsenal - they eventually finished 13th.

Vitor Pereira arrived in December with the same task and has also now had seven games to get to grips with the Premier League.

Like Lopetegui, the new head coach enjoyed a good start and had back-to-back wins before finishing the year with a point at Spurs.

But four consecutive defeats since then means Pereira has managed seven points in the same number of games that Lopetegui picked up 13.

The quality of opposition may not be comparable with Wolves in the midst of a tough fixture list, but it is true to say they are not showing the same form under Lopetegui that kept them in the league two years ago.

Something must give, improvements must be made and they have no reason not to be motivated with Villa coming to Molineux.

Villa have failed to win their Premier League games immediately after a Champions League tie in all but one this season. That one occasion came when they beat Wolves 3-1 at Villa Park back in September.

However, it is arguably a good time to play Villa, despite their 4-2 win over Celtic on Wednesday night.

They have a string of injuries, which was compounded by a knock Matty Cash sustained in the Champions League this week and the number of games they are playing is seemingly catching up to them.

Fatigue has set in and in their last Premier League match - a 1-1 draw with West Ham - they looked exhausted.

For Wolves, this has to be seen as an opportunity.

Villa, undoubtedly, have a lot of quality and will have their own motivation when they head to Molineux.

Any suggestion that it will be an easy game for Wolves is ridiculous, yet there is still an opportunity in front of them to get their season back on track.

However, they will have to do it without two key players.

Joao Gomes picked up a naive red card against Arsenal and will complete his one-match suspension tomorrow, leaving a big gap in midfield.

Pereira has been publicly critical about his midfield options to play in a two, but without a signing he must rely on the players he has available.

Tommy Doyle is surely the obvious choice, ahead of Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, to partner Andre against Villa. But, whoever replaces J.Gomes must try to put Pereira's criticism to the back of their mind.

Having the confidence to play when the head coach's belief is seemingly waning, must be tough.

On top of that, Jorgen Strand Larsen is expected to miss the game with a hamstring injury, in a major blow to Wolves.

It is unclear how long he will be sidelined for, but his presence up front will be a miss for Pereira's side.

Despite losing these two players, Wolves will not get many more chances to pick up three points and they must take advantage of the opportunity in front of them.