It's a derby match because Wolves are 15 miles away but is it an important derby match? Don't get me wrong, they're the only local side in the Premier League with us this season so it's a big match and I did specifically look for this date, but where is it on the list of derby matches?
West Brom and The Clowns are both more important and Coventry isn't that much further away. When I was a lad Coventry was a big match. Wolves was always what you looked for last but if they were the only other side in the League, it's the one you look forward to.
I'm not trying to suggest that Wolves are that girl in the nightclub 30 minutes before closing, they're more than that. They have won 17 major trophies in their history, including 11 league titles, four FA Cups and two League Cups. Wolves are a big Club.
And all of that above is why Wolves is actually a big match and why it's important to win. After us, Wolves are the next most successful side from the West Midlands and ahead of us Wolves are making waves in other places.
I'm looking forward to this afternoon. It's a big match and winning it would keep us where we need to be.
The manager
Match facts from the BBC
Head-to-head
- Wolves are unbeaten in five Premier League away games against Aston Villa, their best run versus a specific team.
- Villa could equal their longest streak of top-flight home matches against the same opponent without scoring: five, set versus Chelsea between 1995-2000 and Manchester United from 2003 to 2006.
Aston Villa
- Villa have gone five Premier League home games without defeat for the first time since January 2015 (W3, D2). Their most recent longer unbeaten run spanned eight matches across two seasons in 2011.
- Only two of Aston Villa's 10 league goals this season have been scored in the first half.
- Emiliano Martínez has kept a clean sheet in all three of his Premier League appearances against Wolves.
- Danny Ings has gone five league games without a goal but he scored in three of his previous four appearances against Wolves while playing for Southampton.
Wolverhampton Wanderers
- Bruno Lage's side have won three of their past four league fixtures, as many as they had in their previous 16 attempts.
- They can equal the club Premier League record of three consecutive away wins, set in June last year when the third victory was at Villa Park.
- Wolves could also go three successive top-flight away games without conceding for the first time since 1960.
- They have conceded just one goal after half-time in the Premier League this season, the fewest in the division.
- Raul Jimenez has been involved in each of Wolves' last three league goals, scoring once and setting up two.
- Adama Traore, who played 12 times for Aston Villa in 2015 and 2016, has made a league-high 48 successful dribbles this season.