On the back of a breathtaking finale to their Europa Conference League tie with Zrinjski Mostar, Aston Villa make the short journey to Molineux to take on Wolverhampton Wanderers in Sunday's Premier League West Midlands derby.
While Unai Emery's men are revelling in their late, late continental triumph, Wolves are also on cloud nine courtesy of ending Manchester City's perfect start to the season last weekend.
Match preview
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Prior to Man City's West Midlands stopover last weekend, treble-winning head coach Pep Guardiola name-checked Pedro Neto and Matheus Cunha as attackers who could cause his side a few problems at Molineux, before labelling Hwang Hee-chan "the Korean guy" after seemingly forgetting the former RB Leipzig man's name.
The Catalan's quip may have caused a few smirks at the time, but Hwang had the last laugh at the weekend, as the South Korea international scored the decisive goal to down the champions following Julian Alvarez's stunning free kick and Ruben Dias's deflection into his own net.
Wolves comically paid tribute to their "Korean guy" on social media as Gary O'Neil's men remarkably ended the Citizens' perfect start to the 2023-24 Premier League season, only four days on from being put to the sword by Championship high-flyers Ipswich Town in the EFL Cup.
Success over the English and European champions also snapped a four-game winless streak for Wolves, but their position remains precarious, as they occupy 15th place in the rankings and are only three points clear of the dreaded dotted line at this stage.
For all of their attacking shortcomings last season, O'Neil's men have now scored in each of their last eight games across all tournaments, but failing to keep a single clean sheet in their last five contests offers less reason for optimism against a Villa side who left it late to find their shooting boots in midweek.
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As Aston Villa adjust to the rigorous demands of Europa Conference League football alongside their Premier League commitments, Emery inevitably disrupted the harmony of his first XI from their sensational 6-1 hiding of Brighton & Hove Albion when Bosnian outfit Zrinjski Mostar paid a visit.
A much-changed Lions side huffed and puffed, but it would seemingly be one of those days for Emery's team, that was until captain John McGinn headed home the game's only goal deep into second-half injury time, as Villa got off the mark in Europe's tertiary tournament at the second attempt.
Righting the wrongs of their opening 3-2 loss to Legia Warsaw - as well as their shock EFL Cup exit at the hands of Everton - Emery's men travel to Molineux having also prevailed in five of their last six Premier League contests, including each of their last three against Crystal Palace, Chelsea and a beleaguered Brighton.
While the Lions have transformed Villa Park into a formidable fortress, it has been a different story for Emery's team on the road, as they have only prevailed in two of their last eight away games in the top flight and conceded eight times on the bounce before shutting out Chelsea last month.
Furthermore, Villa's recent rise has not yet translated into West Midlands derby dominance, as they have gone five games without a win against Wolves since a 1-0 Molineux success in December 2020, most recently losing by the same scoreline at the same ground in May thanks to an early Toti goal.
Team News
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Wolves summer signing Jean-Ricner Bellegarde will serve the third and final game of his suspension here following his foolish sending-off at Luton Town, and O'Neil has also revealed new concerns over Santiago Bueno and Hugo Bueno, who have sustained hamstring and knee problems respectively.
However, the hosting manager will be boosted by the return of Tommy Doyle, who was unable to contribute to his side's incredible win over his parent club last weekend, but O'Neil may very well see fit to continue with the 3-4-3 setup that stumped the treble winners.
Toti - who made his first league start of the season against Man City - could therefore link arms with Craig Dawson and Max Kilman once again, while Neto, whose cross was turned into the Citizens' net by Dias, continues to strut his stuff on the right amid rumours of a possible winter switch to Arsenal.
In contrast, Villa's injury woes remain alive and well, and the Lions had to make do without France duo Boubacar Kamara and Moussa Diaby for the win over Zrinsjki due to unspecified complaints, while Jacob Ramsey missed out due to fresh ankle trouble.
All three men are uncertain for the weekend at the time of writing, but the visitors will certainly avoid taking any risks over Ramsey given his serious ankle injury over the summer, while Tyrone Mings (knee), Emiliano Buendia (knee), Alex Moreno (unspecified) and Timothy Iroegbunam (unspecified) make up a quartet of definite absentees.
After handing starts to a selection of fringe players in midweek, Emery will recall the likes of Pau Torres, Matty Cash, Douglas Luiz and Watkins - who has been called up to the England squad for October's fixtures - to his starting XI, while Kamara's possible absence would benefit Youri Tielemans's chances of a top-flight start.
Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Sa; Kilman, Toti, Dawson; Semedo, Gomes, Lemina, Ait-Nouri; Neto, Cunha, Hwang
Aston Villa possible starting lineup:
Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Kamara, Luiz; McGinn, Diaby, Zaniolo; Watkins
We say: Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-2 Aston Villa
With midweek fatigue setting in and fitness concerns lingering over a couple of key players, there will be no repeat of Villa's astonishing demolition of Brighton in a fixture that they have struggled to perform in since fans returned to stadiums.
In contrast, a jubilant Wolves side working with a lengthy recuperation period can feel hopeful of prolonging their purple patch against their West Midlands rivals, but with O'Neil's team still far from watertight defensively, Villa's returning big-hitters can take advantage to propel the Lions to a fourth Premier League win on the bounce.
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Top tip
Ben Knapton
