Wolves v Aston Villa Betting Tips: Bookings the way to go at Molineux

Saturday’s late Championship kick-off is a West Midlands derby between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Aston Villa at Molineux.

Former Villa manager Paul Lambert has turned things around at Wolves having lost just once in their last four league matches, pushing them up to 16th and five points clear of the bottom three, whilst they also caused one of the upsets of the round in the FA Cup at the weekend as they recorded a 2-0 victory away at Premier League Stoke City.

Wolves have realised that defence is not their strong point, as shown by the fact they have conceded 34 in just 25 matches, so have decided to simply attack in an attempt to outscore their opposition – a tactic which certainly seems to be working at the moment.

It is Wolves’ away form that has been the catalyst to their recent success with their record on home soil looking decidedly dodgy having gained just four points from a possible 21 in their last seven matches at Molineux.

After an excellent start under new manager Steve Bruce, Villa have had a bit of a wobble with no win in three including two losses on the bounce in their two most recent matches. Although one of those losses came away at Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup, the poor league results have seen The Villans slip down to 12th in the league, seven points behind their target of the play-offs.

In typical Steve Bruce fashion, Villa pride themselves on defensive solidity as shown by the fact they have only let in 24 goal this season – although no clean sheet in their last four dampens that. This focus on defence does mean that they perhaps do not score enough goals given the striking talent available and they have only found the back of the net more than once in a match on two occasions in their last nine games.

Unlike Wolves, it has been Villa’s home form that has seen them achieve relative success under Bruce as opposed to their away form which reads four losses in their last five.

As the cliché says, form goes out the window in a local derby. However, Villa’s defensive focus should hold them in good stead here. Whilst Lambert will hope to get one over his old team, I cannot help but feel that Bruce’s experience will see Villa through – particularly against a team so poor at home. If Villa can keep things tight at the back and frustrate then there’s every chance that they can do some damage at the other end, especially given Wolves’ defensive frailties. The flexible bet of ‘Aston Villa Draw No Bet’, at 23/20, is one to be on.

Cards are usually a good place to go with derbies and with this one will likely to be a feisty encounter under the lights. With this in mind, ‘Over 65 Booking Points’, at 8/5, is another good-looking option.

See more Championship tips here.