Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Aston Villa – EPL, December 12, 2020

Aston Villa’s game with Newcastle was postponed at short notice last week after a flurry of positive COVID tests. So it should be a refreshed team that makes the short trip to take on Wolves on Saturday.

The home side was thrashed by Liverpool last weekend, so will be keen to get back to winning ways.

Wolves will be without top striker Raul Jimenez as he recovers from a fractured skull, but BetOnline still makes the home side the favorite here. But the odds are fairly attractive – probably taking into account Villa’s fine form this season – so backing Nuno Espirito Santo’s side looks well worth it at first glance.

After losing Jimenez in the game previously, it was always going to be tough going to Anfield and coming away with something. It has been over 60- games unbeaten at home for Liverpool now, and Wolves found out just how hard it is to pick up points at the home of the current champions.

Wolves actually started that game against Liverpool fairly brightly but was let down by a strange reluctance to fully attack. That was perhaps understandable without Jimenez up front, but there are other very accomplished players in the squad – and they could be very dangerous against Villa if allowed.

That is not to say that Aston Villa doesn’t possess some very good players of its own. Ross Barkley is still out for this one, but it is Jack Grealish that runs the show in this team. The England international is at the center of everything that happens for Villa, and Wolves will need to stop him if it is to triumph.

If Ollie Watkins has a little more luck than he managed last time out – when he missed a penalty and had a goal chalked off – he could be a major threat as well. Dean Smith has his players performing very well this season and their position in the league could well be improved with a good set of fixtures over Christmas.

A lot will depend here on whether Wolves is allowed to play a fully attacking game, or whether Nuno Espirito Santo remains reluctant to let his players off the leash completely. These are probably two very evenly balanced sides and Grealish should create enough chances for Villa to make this a close-run game.