It was only a few months ago that fears of relegation were starting to appear at Wolves. They had just lost to West Brom and even club captain Conor Coady was being substituted.
It was a strange time for the Midlands outfit but they have improved significantly. Since that defeat to the Baggies in January, they have only lost three of their last eight Premier League outings.
They didn’t taste defeat during February, a month which has been recognised by those at the top. Nuno Espirito Santo has been nominated for the Manager of the Month award while Ruben Neves is in the frame to win Player of the Month.
It has been an outstanding turnaround, even if they were battered and bruised in a 4-1 defeat to Manchester City last Tuesday.
Wolves now face another tough encounter in the form of Aston Villa, a Midlands derby. With their loss to City still fresh in the mind, we’re tipping Nuno to make three changes to his side on Saturday evening.
The first change to note is up front, where Willian Jose comes back into the team. He was among the substitutes at the Etihad Stadium, with Adama Traore preferred to lead the line.
That experiment didn’t work, however, with Coady scoring the Old Gold’s only goal of the game. As a result, he shifts back to his usual position on the wing, with Nelson Semedo reverting to wing-back.
Consequently, Ki-Jana Hoever is dropped from the starting XI after his inept display. He was given a torrid evening by Raheem Sterling and Joao Cancelo.
There are two other changes in defence, where Willy Boly makes his comeback from injury. The Frenchman was on the bench in midweek so should be fit enough to start now.
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He replaces Leander Dendoncker, who scored an own goal against City. The final change is at left wing-back, where Jonny is replaced by Rayan Ait-Nouri.
The Spaniard has struggled to complete 90 minutes since returning from his lengthy absence with a knee problem. After being tormented by Riyad Mahrez a few days ago, he is given a chance to catch his breath.
The £75,000-per-week earner is usually so important from a defensive point of view but still needs a longer period to get up to speed.