Krejci has been one of the few Wolves players that has impressed over the course of the season, with the 26-year-old showing himself to be an aggressive centre back who can also play in midfield.

Krejci has committed 23 fouls across his 16 starts in the Premier League this season, working out to an average of 1.49 fouls committed per 90. This promising foul record has been accompanied by two yellow cards for Krejci, with the latest of those coming against Manchester United a few weeks ago.

Krejci has committed a foul in each of his last two Premier League appearances, and plays for a Wolves side that is committing 14.1 fouls per game in the Premier League this term - more than any other side in the division.

Wolves exceeded this average in the most recent head-to-head, with the Wolves committing 17 fouls in their 1-0 defeat at St James’ Park. Krejci lined up in midfield in that clash, committing two fouls and picking up a yellow card.

He’s expected to feature in a back three for Wolves here, but regularly pushes forward into midfield areas where he’ll be greeted by one of the toughest midfield trios in the Premier League. He’ll brush shoulders with Bruno Guimaraes when he does step forward, with the Brazilian averaging 2.32 fouls won per 90 in the Premier League this term - Guimaraes was fouled five times in the last head-to-head.

Wolves’ form has improved in recent weeks, with Rob Edwards most recently seeing his side win 6-1 in the FA Cup, which is exactly the type of uplifting result that they needed in what has been a very arduous and challenging season.

They take on a Newcastle side that are a bit low on confidence at the moment, having lost the first leg of their EFL Cup semi-final against Manchester City (2-0), and have been weak on the road all season - potentially opening the door for Wolves to get another positive result in this mini-resurgence.

Newcastle’s two matches prior to that semi-final first leg have been really hectic, with a 3-3 draw against Bournemouth in the FA Cup and a 4-3 win over Leeds in the Premier League. Newcastle really struggle to control games on the road, with the Magpies winning just two of their 10 away matches in the Premier League this season.

Those games have produced 22 goals (2.2 per game), and I think Wolves’ recent promising run can see them test Eddie Howe’s side and contribute to the overall goal count. Only West Ham (25) have conceded more goals at home than Wolves (23) in the Premier League this season - so there should also be opportunities for Newcastle to get on the scoresheet.

Aston Villa have won more fouls than any other side in the Premier League since Unai Emery took over at the club, with Villa currently sitting top of that metric this season - winning 288 fouls across their 21 Premier League matches this term (13.7 per game).

This is a result of Villa being one of the few sides in the Premier League that insist on playing through the thirds, while the general direction of travel in the Premier League has been a switch to a more direct, physical style of play. Konsa is very strong with the ball at his feet, and should be able to attract fouls from the eccentric Thierno Barry, who is expected to lead the line for Everton here.

Konsa has won 24 fouls across his 20 Premier League appearances this term (1.22 per 90). This is an incredibly strong record for a centre back and tells us that winning fouls is a key part of Konsa’s overall game. Villa drew 17 fouls from Everton in the most recent head-to-head meeting between the sides, with that game finishing 0-0. Konsa was up against Beto on that occasion and was fouled twice.

His main opponent here is likely to be Thierno Barry, who is growing into his role as Everton’s main striker. He’s still a little clumsy and doesn’t quite know how to use his impressive frame correctly, leading to the forward routinely giving away fouls. Barry has committed 25 fouls across his 13 Premier League appearances this term (2.03 per 90), suggesting that Konsa will be in the limelight to be fouled at least once here.

Unai Emery’s team are one of the strongest sides in the Premier League at home, with only Manchester City (26) and Arsenal (29) picking up more points at home this season than Aston Villa (25). Villa have won eight of their 10 home matches this term, with only Newcastle and Crystal Palace managing to take points off Villa at home this season - those games were also right at the start of the season, when Villa were really struggling, so Emery’s side have been faultless at home since those early blips. 

Unai Emery’s side have scored 18 goals across those matches, and only conceded eight. This tightness at the back is likely to prove problematic for Everton, who have only managed to score nine goals across their 10 away matches in the Premier League this term. Everton’s recent form has also been quite poor, with their only win across their last five matches coming against a relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest side.

Everton have lost on their last four trips to Villa Park in the Premier League, with the Toffees losing 3-2 in this fixture last season. They have managed to win at Villa Park in the EFL Cup in this period, though that clash saw both sides heavily rotate, and we can expect Villa to have a near full strength side here.