Five goals, a red card, a spate of injuries and an astonishing comeback – Wolves’ meeting with Jesse Marsch’s Leeds was one for the ages, but unfortunately for the home crowd, their side was on the wrong end of the scoreline come the full-time whistle.
With the Whites losing no fewer than four players to injury and finding themselves 2-0 down before the hour-mark, Wolves were seemingly set for a comfortable success before
Raul Jimenez was controversially given his marching orders, and Leeds produced a phenomenal turnaround through Jack Harrison, Rodrigo and Luke Ayl.ing.
Lage understandably took aim at Kevin Friend for Jimenez’s red card on the day, but his side’s capitulation at Molineux was all their own making, and it is surely a bridge too far for Wolves to challenge for a top-four finish now after a fourth defeat from six.
This weekend’s hosts remain firmly in contention for a European spot as they lie eighth in the table but five points behind fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur – who have a game in hand – so their Europa League or Europa Conference League fate remains out of their own hands.
Furthermore, Lage’s side are nothing if not inconsistent at home – making a habit of winning one then losing one at their Molineux headquarters in the Premier League – and not since December have Wolves drawn a game in the big time.
Facing London opposition has not been Steven Gerrard’s fixture of choice in the Aston Villa dugout so far, with the Lions suffering back-to-back defeats to two capital sides in West Ham United and most recently Arsenal before the international break.
Bukayo Saka’s well-taken effort propelled the Gunners to a 1-0 win at Villa Park last time out, with ex-Arsenal man Emiliano Martinez not doing enough to keep out his former teammate’s effort and current Arsenal stopper Bernd Leno being mobbed by his lot after a crucial last-minute stop.
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Any hopes of catching up to the European-chasing pack are seemingly dead and buried for Villa, whose main goal now is to consolidate their hold on a top-half spot as they remain ninth in the standings – level on points with Leicester City having played two games more.
While Wolves are yet to draw a league game in 2022, it has been over 12 months since Aston Villa last shared the spoils in a Premier League fixture away from home, so recent history certainly suggests that there will be a winner and loser in this battle.
Before being on the wrong end of a 3-2 scoreline against Leeds, Wolves edged a five-goal thriller with Villa by that margin back in October, and the Lions have only won one of their last five versus Wolves since returning to the Premier League in 2019.
