Aston Villa need three points off Wolves

Aston Villa remain only two points ahead of the relegation zone with nine games to go and face a real six-pointer in the Midlands derby with Wolves on Saturday.

Despite sitting in 13th place in the table, Villa sit precariously close to the bottom three and fans will be hoping Gerard Houllier can inspire his side to get all three points at Villa Park.

Their 3-2 loss to Bolton last weekend was only their second defeat in eight games and they need to bounce back and rediscover their winning form over Wolves, with Villa priced at 10/11 to get the win.

Villa have not played for a fortnight so their players should be fresh, but the squad is far from settled at the moment as the papers have been filled with stories of unrest coming out of the camp.

Richard Dunne and James Collins have both been disciplined after an incident during a team bonding session last week, and it is not the first time the former has been in trouble with Houllier and his staff for criticising how the management team have been running the squad.

Houllier has also had high-profile run-ins with Steven Warnock and Habib Beye among others, and such off-the-field problems cannot help a team battling against the drop.

Both Dunne and Collins are out of the game with Wolves due to shoulder and calf problems respectively. It looked like Villa could face a defensive crisis as Ciaran Clark also remains out, but Houllier has been boosted by the return of Carlos Cuellar to plug the gap.

January signing Jean Makoun has completed a three-match ban and comes into contention to face Wolves, but the pressure is on Villa's defence as they have only one clean sheet in 19 games.

Wolves have won only once on their travels and have taken only five points on the road all season, which explains their role as outsiders at 7/2 to win the game. Their record against Villa in recent years does not make good reading for Mick McCarthy as they have not beaten their local rivals in the last 17 meetings.

Jamie O'Hara (14/1 to score the first goal) comes back in after being ineligible to face his parent club last time out, while Stephen Hunt has returned from a calf problem and is likely to be among the squad.

Dave Edwards and Adlene Guedioura are both out, but Ronald Zubar and Michael Kightly could feature after overcoming back and knee problems respectively.

Villa need to put some fresh air between themselves and the bottom three, so fans will be desperate for a win in this local derby. A loss for the home side would increase the pressure on the boss and throw them further into chaos.