Ahead of Saturday’s meeting with Wolves, Dean Smith spoke to the media via virtual press conference.
From the media suite at Bodymoor Heath, the head coach had plenty to talk about in the build-up to the weekend’s clash at Villa Park.
Here’s what he had to say…
On team news…
“In terms of our internationals, I expect all of them to be back. We will assess whether they’re going to be available to play or not.
“Emi Martinez played last night for Argentina, Douglas Luiz got the last 20 minutes for Brazil and we’ve also had players playing for Scotland, England, Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe – so we’ve had players all over the world.
“We want them back and we expect them to come back. Then we’ll assess whether they’re ready to play or not. Martinez and Luiz are obviously the latest ones to come back, but they’ll be in the squad.”
On Leon Bailey, he added: “Unfortunately, Leon hasn’t ticked all the boxes for the medical department. We’re hopeful that he’ll be training after the Wolves game next week in preparation for Arsenal. Wolves is too soon.”
*Keinan Davis and Morgan Sanson are back in training while Bertrand Traore is being assessed for a thigh injury.
On playing Wolves…
“If you look at the start of the season, I thought their performances didn’t get the results that they deserved.
“They’ve got results in the last couple of games when it’s probably been tighter games than the ones before.
“They’ve got good players, a good coach and a really good system in how they play. They’ve got good balance throughout the team and we certainly know their threats.”
On local derbies…
“It will be a really good atmosphere, but it always is. We’re guaranteed sellouts – I think we’ve got 18,000 fans on a waiting list for Season Tickets, which just shows the potential of this football club.
“It’s a local game. It’s not the biggest local derby for Aston Villa, but it’s one we’re looking forward to with Wolves being the only other West Midlands Premier League team now.
“We’re looking forward to it and hopefully we can get the result we got at their place last time. Each game’s as important to go and get three points whether it’s a local derby, Manchester United or Brentford.
“As long as we have the emotional control that we’ve been good with, we’ll continue to show that winning mentality.”
On Emi Martinez…
“We knew what we were getting before he came in. He’s a top goalkeeper and he’s getting plaudits from the best players in the world.
“Long may that continue as an Aston Villa player.”
You can watch the full pre-match press conference on VillaTV below.
