Grealish part of Aston Villa front three as Boly dropped from Wolves back four

Fresh off an overnight price rise, Jack Grealish (£7.8m) starts in an attacking left-sided role for Aston Villa at Molineux.

The England midfielder flanks Ollie Watkins (£6.1m) on one side, with Bertrand Traoré (£5.9m) handed a start on the opposite wing.

There is no place in Dean Smith’s matchday squad for Trezeguet (£5.3m). The midfielder did sustain a cut to his head in Gameweek 10.

Emi Martinez (£4.8m) is between the goalposts for Villa behind a settled back four. Matt Targett (£4.5m) is the cheapest FPL option in that defence.

Smith has also handed a start to £4.5m midfielder Jacob Ramsey, with the 19-year-old taking the place of Ireland’s Conor Hourihane (£6.0m). The Villa chief said of his selection decision:

[Jacob] has really impressed. He’s played a number of cup games for us and excelled in them.

It’s harsh on Conor Hourihane but I just felt that the way Jacob has trained in the last few weeks has really impressed me. His energy levels have enabled him to start today.

On the injured Ross Barkley (£5.9m), Smith explained on Wednesday:

No [he’s not in the squad for Wolves]. He’s still carrying an injury. He’s rehabbing at the moment, he’s back running. It shouldn’t be too long before he’s back.

Fabio Silva (£5.2m) is tasked with wiping out the Villa backline’s clean sheet, as Nuno Espirito Santo hands the young striker his full Premier League debut.

Silva will operate in front an attacking midfield trio containing Pedro Neto (£5.7m), Daniel Podence (£5.4m) and Adama Traoré (£6.2m).

“He has to stick to his tasks. He has talent to exploit the situations that can happen.” – Nuno Espirito Santo on Fabio Silva

The Wolves manager is also sticking with a back four, which sees the surprising inclusion of Romain Saiss (£5.1m) ahead of the benched Willy Boly (£5.5m). Budget option Max Kilman (£4.3m) is also a substitute.

Boly has been demoted by Wolves manager Nuno

Aston Villa have not played since Gameweek 10, after their GW11 clash with Newcastle was postponed due to the Magpies’ Covid-19 outbreak.

The Villans lost 2-1 away to West Ham in GW10 as Watkins missed a penalty. Asked if the striker would have taken a second spot-kick on the night, Smith responded on Friday:

It’s not something I’ve discussed at the moment but we will before the Wolves game. He was disappointed with the penalty miss, an opportunity to score from 12 yards.

He just wants to keep getting better, he’ll keep working hard. He is itching to get playing again. Missing a penalty is not nice. I have missed one myself. It is part and parcel of the game and it is always how you bounce back.

Fabio Silva, at 18 years of age, is Wolves’ only available senior striker after Raul Jimenez suffered a serious head injury in GW10.

The Mexico star was pictured visiting the Wolves training ground this week, with Nuno stating on Friday:

He’s OK, it’s the same Raul. He’s smiling and being positive and it’s so good to have him. We had normal conversations. We already spoke about the team and how we see it.

He has this desire that he wants to return and this is the most important step that he already made. He will take time but he wants to return.

The Wolves boss added on Jonny (£5.4m):

He’s doing very well. He’s a strong player, as you can see, but now he has to have some time. We can’t rush things.

Wolves XI (4-2-3-1): Rui Patricio; Marcal, Saiss, Coady, Semedo; Dendoncker, Moutinho; Neto, Podence, Adama Traoré; Fabio Silva.

Aston Villa XI (4-3-3): Martinez; Targett, Mings, Konsa, Cash; McGinn, Douglas Luiz, Ramsey; Grealish, Watkins, Bertrand Traoré.