Wolves vs Aston Villa LIVE: Premier League result and final score
Wolves 1-0 Aston Villa: Toti’s early header earns the hosts three points
An early goal from defender Toti earned Wolverhampton Wanderers a gritty 1-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday to all but ensure Julen Lopetegui’s side stay in the Premier League next season.
Toti shrugged off the attentions of Jacob Ramsey to head home Ruben Neves’s corner in the ninth minute and give the home side a victory that moved them up to 13th in the table.
Villa nearly equalised four minutes later when Emiliano Buendia drew a diving, one-handed save from Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa with a beautifully-struck effort with the outside of his right boot.
Craig Dawson made a crucial block to deny Buendia again towards the end of the first half before Matheus Cunha passed up a glorious chance to double Wolves’s lead when he blazed over the bar.
Ashley Young went close after a Villa corner and Tyrone Mings fired over from close range following a free kick, but chances were at a premium in the second half with Wolves content to pack the defence and soak up pressure.
Wolves moved on to 40 points, 10 clear of the relegation zone, while Villa stayed eighth after their second defeat in a row.
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Aston Villa
WOLVES SUBS: Hwang Hee-Chan, Joao Gomes, Joao Moutinho, Nathan Collins, Pablo Sarabia, Daniel Podence, Adama Traore, Daniel Bentley, Rayan Ait-Nouri.
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Aston Villa
WOLVES STARTING XI (4-4-2): Jose Sa; Toti, Craig Dawson, Maximilian Kilman, Nelson Semedo; Pedro Neto, Ruben Neves, Mario Lemina, Matheus Nunes; Matheus Cunha, Diego Costa.
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Aston Villa
Villa are still in contention for a European place next season and come into this game in seventh. They've lost just one of their last 11 games (W8 D2), though that was last time out in a 1-0 defeat to Manchester United. It also marked the first time that they failed to score a goal in a match under Unai Emery. As for Wolves, they're still not mathematically safe yet, but a win today would take them up to 40 points. They've won three of their last six outings (D1 L2), with all of those victories coming at home without conceding. However, they come into today on the back of a 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Brighton and Hove Albion last weekend.
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Aston Villa
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the Premier League meeting between Wolves and Aston Villa at Molineux!
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