Wolves v Aston Villa

By Steve Wilson
BBC Match of the Day commentator

Wolves manager Mick McCarthy is seeking to arrest a slump of nine games without a win in all competitions

TEAM NEWS

Wolves defenders Roger Johnson and Kevin Foley should play despite missing the midweek FA Cup replay against Birmingham with ankle injuries.

Winger Matt Jarvis returns after sitting out that game with a hamstring strain but Dave Edwards is a doubt.

Former Wolves forward Robbie Keane is pushing for his first Villa start after impressing in training.

Emile Heskey and Chris Herd remain sidelined with respective Achilles and ankle injuries.

MATCH PREVIEW

You may have heard the quaint old English saying: “A face like a robber’s dog chewing a wasp.”

If you want to know what that actually looks like, search for the pictures of Mick McCarthy as the whistle blew at Molineux on Wednesday night and they went out of the FA Cup to Birmingham. It must have been a particularly unpalatable wasp.

McCarthy’s side have now failed to win any of their last nine games, and though draws at the Emirates and White Hart Lane are admirable, it’s winning games that keeps the wolf from the Wolves door.

Another home game and another local derby might be just what they need to get themselves back into a positive frame of mind. Whilst Villa’s record against Wolves is good, with one defeat in 19, they are not the most fearsome opposition in the Premier League with only five league wins all season.

The star of the show for Wolves has been Steven Fletcher with seven goals in his last nine starts. That’s a very respectable record if you are playing for a club in the top half. If you are at a club battling at the other end it is priceless.

But it’s a former Wolves striker returning in the claret and blue of Villa who I am particularly looking forward to seeing. Robbie Keane made his debut for Wolves more than 14 years ago and set the tone by scoring twice against Norwich. His transfer fees since add up to an eye-watering £70m. As a part of Mick McCarthy’s Republic of Ireland squad for the 2002 World Cup, memorably scoring against both Germany and Spain, I’m sure that he will get a warm welcome from the current Wolves boss.

Keane left Molineux in 1999 and has only played there once since. That was for Spurs in 2004 – it will come as a surprise to no one that he scored.

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head

• Wolves are winless in their last eight home matches in this fixture (D3, L5) since a 3-1 top-flight victory in May 1978.
• Villa have only lost one of their last 19 league and cup matches against Wolves (W13, D5) spanning nearly 32 years. That solitary success for Wolves came in March last year when Matt Jarvis scored the only goal at Villa Park.
• These clubs met in Wolverhampton on the opening day of the inaugural Football League season in 1888. The game ended 1-1.

Wolves

• Wolves have gone seven games without a win, accruing only four points out of a possible 21.
• Mick McCarthy’s side have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 18 league games since a goalless draw at Villa in August. Their worst Premier League run is 19 matches.
• They have gained a league-high 10 points from losing positions this season.
• Steven Fletcher has scored nine Premier League goals this season from just 12 shots on target, according to Opta.
• Richard Stearman and David Edwards could both make their 100th league appearance for Wolves.

Aston Villa

• They have only taken 13 points from 14 matches since mid-October but are unbeaten in their last four away games (W2, D2).
• Villa have failed to score in eight of their 21 league matches – only Swansea and Wigan (both nine) have fared worse.
• Darren Bent is two goals shy of 100 in the Premier League.
• Robbie Keane has scored 123 goals in 344 Premier League appearances but his last 30 top-flight games in England have yielded only three goals. The most recent of those came against Aston Villa in April 2011.
• Bent and Keane started 15 league matches together at Tottenham during the 2007-08 season, scoring four goals each. They never both scored in the same game.
• This match takes place on Alex McLeish’s 53rd birthday.