The first of the Midlands’ derbies kicks off this weekend at 12:05pm when Villa take on Wolves in the third week of the Premier League.

With the season still in it’s infancy, many would have laughed off suggestions that Villa v Wolves would be a top of the table clash. The reality, however, is that it is exactly that.

Villa come into the match with four points courtesy of a 3-1 home win against Blackburn Rovers which followed an opening day 0-0 away draw against Fulham. Wolves, by comparison, sport a 100% record having beaten both Blackburn Rovers 2-1 on the opening day, followed by a 2-0 win against Fulham.

Given that we have played the same teams so far in the Premier League as Wolves, there’s not much in it although, as we are all too well aware, anything can happen when it comes to derby day.

In terms of how Villa will setup, I don’t see any reason why Alex McLeish will deviate from his existing 4-2-3-1 plan. Whilst the deployment of Gabby on the left has surprised many fans, his performances from that position have been good. A well taken goal certainly helped his confidence against Blackburn, and showed that there is still a lot more to come from him.

Villa seem likely to post a clean bill of health barring the long term injury of Carlos Cuellar.

I expect Villa to line up with:

Given, Warnock, Dunne, Collins, Young, Delph, Petrov, Agbonlahor, Heskey, N’Zogbia, Bent

Although Villa lost the equivalent game 1-0 last season courtesy of a Matt Jarvis goal, I expect Alex McLeish’s men to provide a sterner test. If Villa can keep the attitude going from the Blackburn match, I could see another home win, albeit maybe not to the tune of 3-1. It all depends on how Wolves set up though.

Other news

With the transfer window looming large, the papers are indulging in the same transfer frenzy with Villa as with any other club. The likes of Gibson, Onouha, Parker, and several others have been linked with moves to Villa Park.

Given the recent statements that sales would have to preclude any deals being done for the club, it seems unlikely that Villa will reinforce further. Unless, of course, we are able to organise some quick moves. That seems improbable at present, although there have been candidates mentioned.

They are, as stated before, the likes of Beye, Cuellar, Young, and Makoun. One reporter suggested that Beye could be free transferred to get him off the wage bill, although such a suggestion seems unlikely given the usual terms of contract termination.

Getting rid of Beye would alleviate the wage bill to a tune of £40k, but it would also then mean half or more of his contract would need to be paid up front to get rid. Mathematically it makes very little sense.

Better, in my opinion, to use him where possible, as the Hereford match showed he may not be a dead loss with a few clever balls, albeit against lower league opposition.

So will we add to the team? Probably not, but then you can never rule out the chance of a last minute deal if it suits the club financially. The money for fees isn’t a problem as explained before, so if we did offload players, we might actually see a marquee signing. This probability is slim though.

Statistics

Statistics are courtesy of Opta.

Aston Villa have lost just one of their last 10 Premier League matches.

Only one of the six Premier League meetings between Villa and Wolves has ended as a home win.

Matt Jarvis scored in both games against Aston Villa last season.

The Villans have lost just one of their last nine Premier League matches at Villa Park, but that was a 0-1 loss to Wolves back in March.

Darren Bent has scored seven goals in his last 10 Premier League matches.

Only Carlos Tevez (43) has scored more Premier League goals since the start of 2009/10 than Darren Bent (42).

Eight of the last nine Premier League goals Villa have scored have been netted in the first half and five of the last eight in the opening 17 minutes.

Steven Fletcher has scored six goals in his last eight Premier League games.

Wolverhampton Wanderers have conceded a league-high 20 corner kicks this season.

Stilian Petrov has made more interceptions than any other Premier League player this season so far (11).

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