Date: Wednesday 4th January
Kickoff: 20.00
Venue: Villa Park
Live @ https://www.ja606.co.uk/articles/viewLiveArticle/450679
One match ban enabled
On Wednesday Wolves will take on local rivals Aston Villa for their first game of 2023.
Wolves go into the game on the back of a 1-0 loss to Manchester united but nevertheless can be satisfied with the improved performance that they showed throughout the game.
Aston Villa’s outing to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on New Year’s Day resulted in a 2-0 win, a real confidence booster for the boys from Brum.
Wolves haven’t lost to Villa since December 2020 having won the previous two encounters and drawn the one before that. However you have to go back to March 2018 to find a game where either team has won by a greater than one goal margin.
Gem’s prediction: 1-1
Aston Villa v Wolves Match Day Thread
posted on 4/1/23
Disappointed we didn't hold on to that, we need all the points we can get our grubby mitts on. We haven't got the quality to put these games to bed or hold on to what we have. One win, one draw, one defeat from JL's first three games, the improvement is there but we need to turn it in to results soon or we're fooked.
posted on 4/1/23
comment by GeminMallorca (U18318)
posted 12 minutes ago
comment by Wolfgang (U8869)
posted less than a minute ago
Great performance by Wolves
No way is this team going down
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They're not going anywhere unless they start scoring some goals
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Trust me, I'm a doctor
posted on 4/1/23
comment by GeminMallorca (U18318)
posted 11 minutes ago
comment by Wolfgang (U8869)
posted less than a minute ago
Great performance by Wolves
No way is this team going down
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They're not going anywhere unless they start scoring some goals
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If the goals don't arrive we most definitely are going somewhere Gem .
posted on 4/1/23
That's the halfway stage then, on a positive note after 18 games last season Newcastle were 19th with just 10 points. West Ham game is a huge one.
posted on 4/1/23
Nearly went pear shaped at the end but we were by far the better team for the majority of the match. Good goal by Podence, all his own work. Nunes and Neves dominated the midfield, Kilman and Collins mopping all Villa’s pretty uninspired attacking efforts. One or two nice touches from Costa but can’t see the point of Hwang who was probably lucky not to get sent off.
But I guess Villa were bound to improve and they pushed us back the last 20 minutes and they got their reward and could have won it. Bringing on Augustisson, Coutinho and Ings for Young, Digne and Watkins certainly lifted them and suddenly we struggled to hold the ball.
Cunha looked lively and the cup games coming up will give him the chance to settle in. I’d have settled for a point before the game started and although it was disappointing not to get three in the end, that was because our game was so good in the first hour.
posted on 5/1/23
A good game to watch, especially for the neutral onlookers. Still unable to get that second goal which I think could have killed Villa off. Much improved performances since Lopetegui has arrived, but it's still a concern if we cannot score more goals.
Nunes was my MoM and it was nice to see more of our players in their box when attacking. The problem with Adama is, he get's way ahead of the other forwards and in the end, a lot of his crosses come to nothing. Shame the others teams did well, but we have to concentrate on our games and not depend on others.
A shame Kilman got caught out of position for their goal, but it had to be Ings, who has scored 4 in 4 against us.
posted on 5/1/23
Do think the performances under Lopetegui have offered genuine encouragement and I believe that the reason we are where we are is because in the first half of the season we were operating under two pretty poor managers in Bruno and Davies.
When I look at our squad I think we have far more quality than the likes of Southampton, Forest, Bournemouth and Everton. And by the end of the season I think we'll be able to say that about a few more teams. The fact we play Liverpool and Man City soon means we likely won't be flying up the table in the short term but I do see us climbing above the relegation areas once those games are out of the way. 3 points against West Ham in our next league game would be an enormous help.
Big question mark remains whether we can turn performances into goals and points and we'll have a better idea about that when we see what our squad looks like at the end of the transfer window.
posted on 5/1/23
Had plenty of messages from Villa fans today as is the norm after these games. All of them raving about how good a player Nunes looks. And also impressed by Joe Hodge
posted on 5/1/23
Podence was withdrawn at half time last night with an injury. They hope its not too serious but the doctor will review. He is unlikely to play at Liverpool this weekend.
Things not so good with Boubacar Traore who will likely be out until March
posted on 5/1/23
As is normal in the morning after a night match, I spoke to a few of our players on their way into Compton. Mixed feelings really as they felt they could have taken the three points, I told them we can’t complain about a point away to Villa. 👍