It's not a derby: Aston Villa v Wolverhampton Wanderers preview and team news

Villa and Wolves go head to head in a West Midlands derby on Sunday. Except they don't. Because it's not a derby.

Aston Villa face nearish neighbours Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League on Sunday and it’s probably the last time Wolves will visit Villa Park in the league for a while.

Villa will fancy their chances of avoiding the drop from the Premier League this season – they’re halfway to safety – but Wolves are bollocksed. Two points from 12 games is an atrocious return and the ongoing mismanagement of the club is finally coming home to roost.

Who would have thought the Fosun International and Jorge Mendes experiment would have a downside as well as bringing Rúben Neves to England for absolute peanuts?

The inner turmoil and imminent fall of Wolves isn’t good news, just a reminder to us all that we owe our clubs protective scrutiny, not blind faith and loyalty. All the Portuguese promises in the world can’t change that.

Villa, while not institutionally bulletproof, do seem to be on a sturdier long-term footing.

In the here and now, they’ve recovered from a dreadful start to the season to climb into the top four in the Premier League with a win at Leeds United last weekend.