Wolves moved out of the Premier League relegation zone thanks to a battling 2-0 derby win over Aston Villa.

Having gone into Saturday's clash at Molineux buoyed by earlier defeats for Leicester City and Ipswich Town, Wolves took their chance to push out of the bottom three thanks to goals from Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Matheus Cunha.

Bellegarde opened the scoring in the 12th minute, capping off a fine team move with a blistering finish at Emiliano Martinez's near post.

Cunha and Goncalo Guedes squandered fantastic chances to extend Wolves' lead before the interval, and it appeared as though the hosts would be punished when Donyell Malen – one of four half-time changes for Villa – nudged in from close range after the break.

However, the VAR confirmed the on-field decision of offside, having somewhat harshly concluded that Morgan Rogers had interfered with play by impacting Nelson Semedo's ability to challenge for the ball.

Yet Villa could not turn their frustration into chances, with Jose Sa only having one meaningful save to make before Cunha pounced on Ezri Konsa's mistake to lash in a decisive second.

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— Wolves (@Wolves) February 1, 2025

Wolves moved into 17th, two points above the drop zone, while Villa, who lost Ollie Watkins to injury, are in eighth place.

Data Debrief: Villa found wanting

While Wolves defended well, Unai Emery will not be happy with what he saw from his forwards.

At the end of a week in which Villa progressed in the Champions League but then sold Jhon Duran to Al-Nassr for a huge fee, Emery's team created chances worth only 0.5 expected goals.

Villa have failed to score in six of their 24 Premier League games this season, as many times as in the whole of the 2023-24 campaign. They are seemingly close to completing a deal for Marcus Rashford to join on loan, and given Watkins' injury, more attacking options are certainly required.

Wolves, meanwhile, are back on track after a run of four straight league defeats.

They have now kept three clean sheets in their eight Premier League games under Vítor Pereira, more than they had in their final 33 games under Gary O'Neil (two).