Wolves boss Rob Edwards was full of praise for Aston Villa ahead of hosting Unai Emery’s side at Molineux
15:06, 26 Feb 2026Updated 15:12, 26 Feb 2026
Wolves manager Rob Edwards(Image: Brett Patzke – Wolves via Getty Images)
Rob Edwards has called on his Wolves players to show passion against Aston Villa, saying his side’s performance “needs to look like it matters.”
The Premier League’s bottom club need two more points to surpass Derby County’s record-low total of just 11 points, set during the 2007/08 campaign.
Their opponents on Friday night, Villa, are also in need of a victory after winning only one of their last five matches.
Dropping points at home to Everton, Brentford and Leeds in recent weeks has seen their cushion inside the top five shrink to six points.
“Villa are obviously a brilliant team, with an amazing manager, and they’ve got a real clear way of playing,” Edwards said. “We know big elements of what the game is going to look like and what we’re going to need to do to make sure that we’re competitive in the game.
“But we’ll also respect that it’s a midlands derby as well, and there needs to be a lot of passion on show. To not be too robotic, it needs to look like it matters to us, and tomorrow, we need to try and make it feel like the second half in the last game at home against Arsenal, where we’re up against the top team, and the energy around the place was brilliant. I get that comes from our performance, and we’re going to need to try and bring that from the beginning tomorrow.
“Unai Emery, his staff, his team, are extremely good, and they’ll look to try and get the best out of their players, but they’ve still got a very clear way of playing. Every individual is different, so they’re always going to bring different qualities, whether that’s physicality or technical levels. Douglas Luis is back at the club again now, and he’s a wonderful footballer, but again, he’s going to be different from Kamara or McGinn or Tielemans.
“They all offer different things, but they’re all pretty good. We’ll prepare to face both Watkins or Abraham, because, again, they’re very good players in their own right, different players as well, but they can be equally as devastating, so we’ll be ready for either or both.”
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