Predicted Wolves XI to face Aston Villa – Can Jimenez keep firing?
Wolves edged past Slovan Bratislava by a 1-0 scoreline on Matchday 4 of the UEFA Europa League on Thursday night, as an injury-time winner from Raul Jimenez put the Black Country outfit on the brink of qualification to the knockout phase.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are now set to turn their attention to the Premier League, where Wolves will play host to Midlands rivals Aston Villa on Sunday.
Wolves did well to rescue a valuable point away from home in a 1-1 draw against Arsenal in the Premier League and they will be eyeing their third league victory this season when Villa make the trip to Molineux at the weekend.
Aston Villa beat Wolves 2-1 in the EFL Cup last month and Nuno Santo’s men will be keen to get one over their rivals this time around.
Team News
Nuno Santo is expected to rotate his squad on Sunday after putting forward a near-full strength playing eleven against Slovan Bratislava in the Europa League.
Willy Boly is ruled out after undergoing an ankle surgery while Morgan Gibbs-White is struggling with a back issue and is doubtful to feature on Sunday.
Predicted Wolves XI
Formation: 3-4-3
Rui Patricio (GK)
The Portuguese star hardly had anything to do between the sticks in the 1-0 victory over Slovan Bratislava and he has always been one of the first names on Nuno’s team sheet.
Conor Coady (CB)
Wolves will need their captain to step up to the occasion when they face Villa in a local derby on Sunday.
Romain Saiss (LCB)
The Moroccan international was rested for the Europa League clash but he is likely to replace Max Kilman on the left-hand side of the backline after putting in a good shift against Arsenal last week.
Leander Dendoncker (RCB)
The Belgian has looked very comfortable as a part of the back-three and he could once again get the nod ahead of Ryan Bennett on Sunday.
Matt Doherty (RWB)
The Irishman put in an excellent performance in the Europa League on Thursday and will once again have a big role to play in the Premier League this weekend.
Jonny Otto Castro (LWB)
Ruben Vinagre started the Europa League fixture but the Spaniard has always been the first-choice in the Premier League.
Ruben Neves (CM)
He missed a penalty on Thursday but that is unlikely to put any major doubts over his selection, unless, of course, the manager feels that he needs a bit of rest.
Joao Moutinho (CM)
The veteran showed his class with a lovely clipped pass to Doherty against Bratislava and Wolves will once again bank on him to spark creativity in the final third on Sunday.
Diogo Jota (LW)
Jota is yet to hit top gear this season but he should be fresh and ready to start against Villa after having a good rest.
Patrick Cutrone (RW)
Adama Traore once again put in an incredible performance on Thursday but he pulled up on one occasion due to a hamstring problem and Nuno Santo might well opt for a precautionary measure by calling the former AC Milan star to the playing eleven against Aston Villa.
More Wolves News
- Why Wolves should go all out to sign Dejan Kulusevski next summer
- Why Karlan Grant could be a real coup for Wolves in January
- Why Gabriel Magalhaes to Wolves would help replace Willy Boly
Raul Jimenez (ST)
The Mexican talisman netted his 12th goal of the season in all competitions with an injury-time headed winner against Bratislava and Wolves will need him to fire on all cylinders once again.
