Rob Edwards takes his Wolves side across the West Midlands on Sunday and wolves.co.uk presents the main talking points pre-match.
1 | Roll Call
Sunday’s game is “probably too soon” for Matt Doherty, who has returned to training this week. The Irishman was injured against Chelsea last month but may have one eye on Nottingham Forest next week. Dan Bentley and Rodrigo Gomes remain absent. Edwards also suggested there are other knocks to some of his players, which is to be expected after an increase in training intensity recently.
The only man missing for Villa is Tyrone Mings, as he remains out with a hamstring injury. Amadou Onana returned from injury against Young Boys on Thursday night, while Andres Garcia was back on the bench. Unai Emery was able to make seven changes from their last Premier League outing, with the likes of Matty Cash and John McGinn rested completely.
Preparing for Sunday. pic.twitter.com/akdKG89PYj
— Wolves (@Wolves) November 27, 2025
2 | The Stat Pack
Goals
- Jorgen Strand Larsen | 3
- Donyell Malen | 6
Assists
- Emmanuel Agbadou | 2
- Morgan Rogers | 4
Biggest win
- Wolves 2-0 Everton | September 2025
- Aston Villa 4-0 Bournemouth | November 2025
Yellow cards
- Joao Gomes | 5
- Matty Cash | 4
Clean sheets
- Sam Johnstone | 1
- Emiliano Martinez | 4
3 | Route to Sunday
Edwards’ tenure didn’t get off to the start he’d been hoping for last week, as two second half goals by Crystal Palace inflicted a tenth Premier League loss of the season on Wolves. He’ll have focused on the positives however, particularly from a well-fought and goalless hour at Molineux. The Old Gold have lost their last six – five coming in the Premier League – and haven’t scored in the league since 26th October, so Edwards will be desperate for both unwanted runs to be ended. The 1-1 draw at Tottenham Hotspur in September brought the side’s only point away from Molineux this term.
By contrast, Villa are flying. They go into Sunday’s clash on the back of four straight wins – two in the Premier League, two in the Europa League. They beat Young Boys 2-1 at Villa Park on Thursday night, with Donyell Malen scoring both goals, but it means their preparation time was shorter. Last time out in the Premier League, they came from behind to beat Leeds United, with Morgan Rogers scoring a brace that time. Their last Premier League outing on home soil brought a comprehensive win over Bournemouth. Villa’s last loss came at Liverpool at the start of the month.
4 | The comeback of all comebacks
When it comes to visits to Villa Park, Wolves’ in 2021 will take some beating. Villa had a two goal lead thanks for Danny Ings and McGinn strikes, and that had them on the way to victory, or so they thought.
Romain Saiss’ close-range finish changed the complexion of the fixture, and Conor Coady’s bundled equaliser arrived five minutes later.
Wolves sensed their opportunity, and as Ruben Neves stepped over his injury time free-kick, there was something in the air. The midfielder’s effort was unlikely to have found the net itself, but a huge deflection off the wall sent the ball the opposite way to Emi Martinez and into the net to spark wild scenes of celebration to claim three big points on derby day.
Villa | Martinez, Cash (Young 79), Konsa, Mings, Targett, Tuanzebe, Luiz (Nakamba 67), McGinn, Buendia (Ramsey 74), Watkins, Ings.
Wolves | Sa, Semedo, Kilman, Coady, Saiss, Marcal (Podence 74), Neves, Moutinho (Silva 74), Dendoncker, Hwang (Jimenez 88), Traore.
