Ait-Nour has scored twice for Lopetegui as Wolves look to create and finish more chances, and he can do it again tonight against Aston Villa. Scoring is a priority, as they are not scoring because they are wasteful when they get chances and also do not create that many chances. If anyone hasn’t read the preview of that bet, you can find it here.
Ait-Nouri didn’t score in his cameo against Manchester United but did take corners when he came on from which Wolves nearly scored from. It will be interesting to see if he can impress enough to start. I will wait until team news to place a bet on Ait Nouri to score any time at odds of 24.0 on Betfair. If he does then we will stake 6 on that bet.
Aston Villa’s right side has Ashley Young at right back. He is 37 but has been doing OK in the past few games, but is a weakness in the side. Roberton had two key passes for Liverpool, while Perisic had one key pass. Assuming Wolves go with wing backs and Ait Nouri plays on the left as he has been doing and gets forward, he will have to face Young. He is 21 and coming into form, it is a great opportunity for him to go up against Young and show his quality.
Young was largely sitting in that right back position but was in the game a lot with 77 touches. He advanced forward when space allowed but effectively wasn’t planning to cross the half way line as he can’t afford to give an opposition player too much space to run in to.
McGinn does get back to help Young but often is usually much further forward. Against a wing back system this could be exposed by Wolves as it is much harder for a midfielder like Douglas Luiz to get that far across.
Villa played a 4-4-2 against Spurs and McGinn was largely on the right side but also had a number of touches in the centre and left side. This might have been related to set-pieces or its possible he was out of position.
That said, it is unlikely we will see Young in this game as there is only a three day turnaround between games. It is more likely that Matty Cash will come in at right back. Cash came on a sub against Spurs and really did get forward along that side. That means if he plays, there should be space for Wolves and RAN to counterattack.
Villa have an expected goals against of 10 in their last six games, while they have actually coneded 9. They should have Martinez back in goal following his World Cup win and he will be full of confidence. This bet mainly is based on the pricing of RAN (Rayan Ait Nouri). He is priced at 24.0 but if he can get into positioning like he did in 2 of his last three games, he is showing that he has the finishing ability to take those chances.
Ait Nouri to score at 24.0 on Betfair (subject to him starting). If not an inplay bet will be explored when he is substituted on.