A Midlands derby with consequences at either end of the table. While Aston Villa sit in a position where they could realistically challenge for the Premier League title, Wolverhampton Wanderers are surely already down.
Mathematically, Rob Edwards' men are not out of it yet, but they are running out of time to save what has been one of the worst seasons in top-flight history.
Rob Edwards manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers
To be fair to Edwards, Wolves have been more organised under his leadership but you feel the damage was already done in the opening half of the season when Vitor Pereira was still at Molineux.
Still, the Old Gold have proven they are up for the fight, notably coming back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with first-placed Arsenal in their last home game on the 18th February.
The last meeting
The last time these two sides faced each other was at the beginning of November when Unai Emery's men beat Wolves 1-0 courtesy of a goal from Boubacar Kamara.
That said, Villa have struggled at Molineux in the last few years. Wolves are unbeaten in their last two games at home in this fixture.
Last term, Pereira's side beat the Villans 2-0 at home. Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Matheus Cunha were on the scoresheet that time around.
The visitors will undoubtedly be the favourites on this occasion given Wolves' low position in the table, but Emery will need to find a way to get a better tune out of his charges. They have won just once in their last five games in all competitions.
Wolves recent Premier League form
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Aston Villa recent Premier League form
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Wolves vs Aston Villa team and injury news
Wolves have a near clean bill of health with only Hwang Hee-chan doubtful for this one. That being said, they will be required to find a way to replace Ladislav Krejci who is suspended.
The defender picked up two yellow cards against Crystal Palace last time out, sent off for kicking the ball away.
As for Villa, they are in more bother from an injury point of view and are still without three key players in the form of John McGinn, Youri Tielemans and Kamara.
John McGinn of Aston Villa during the Emirates FA Cup Third Round match
That said, there has been a positive update regarding McGinn. While he won't be fit for this clash, it's been confirmed that the Scottish midfielder is ahead of schedule in his bid to recover from a knee injury that required surgery.
Wolves vs Aston Villa predicted lineups
Wolves: Sa; Tchatchoua, Mosquera, Santi Bueno, Toti Gomes, Hugo Bueno; Andre, Angel Gomes, Mane; Armstrong, Arokodare.
The biggest selection dilemma going into Friday's match for Edwards will be who he decides to replace the suspended Krejci with. It's likely that skipper Toti Gomes will come back into the team.
Krejci-red-card-Wolves
However, that does come with a slice of risk attached to it given he only returned to the match day squad after injury against Crystal Palace last weekend.
The other change could see Bellegarde replaced by Angel Gomes who missed out on the starting lineup last time out.
Aston Villa: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Maatsen; Onana, Luiz; Sancho, Rogers, Buendia, Watkins.
Given their injury problems, there are not a huge number of changes that Emery can make to his team. Ian Maatsen is set to keep his place ahead of Lucas Digne at left-back while Leon Bailey could drop out in favour of Jadon Sancho.
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