Wolves Express | Preparing for the derby

Friday's episode of Wolves Express is out now, as Craig Dawson and Gary O'Neil reflect on midweek cup disappointment while previewing this weekend's Premier League derby against Aston Villa.

Kicking off the podcast, the latest episode begins with the experienced centre-back, who chats about the side staying focused following Wednesday evening's Carabao Cup defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion with a big game in the Premier League coming up on Saturday.

No stranger to West Midlands derbies having played in his fair share for Wolves and during his time with West Bromwich Albion, Dawson understands how tough the game will be but also knows that the players will be backed on the road by the travelling Old Gold support.

Listeners to the podcast can also hear from former women's first-team defender Claire Hakeman, who is now part of the backroom team at Wolves Academy, as she discusses the player who replaced the rested Dawson in midweek, as under-21 defender Alfie Pond made his first senior start and how much the experience would have helped the 20-year-old.

Finally, O'Neil looks ahead to this weekend's visit to Villa Park as he gives a fitness update on Toti and Rayan Ait-Nouri who both missed Wednesday's visit to Brighton, and gives a time frame on Boubacar Traore's knee injury which has seen him sidelined since Wolves' only win of the season so far against Burnley.

The head coach how he's managing morale in the camp as the team look for a first three points in the Premier League this campaign, and how the players are able to bounce back from their narrow defeats.

Released three times a week – every Monday, Wednesday and Friday – Wolves Express is packed with news, updates and exclusive interviews on both the playing and non-playing side of the club, complementing other offerings of the Official Wolves Podcast and Matchday Live Extra.

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