Wolverhampton Wanderers’ tricky trip to Midlands rivals Aston Villa in the EPL this coming Saturday has taken on the appearance of a relegation six-pointer despite the six places which currently separates the sides in the EPL table.

Wanderers recent run of three games without defeat has failed to lift them out of the EPL’s drop zone.

But such is the tight nature of things at the ‘wrong’ end of the table that a win at Villa Park would take manager Mick McCarthy’s men to within a point of the 13^th-placed Villains.

Wolves’ mini-run of success began in Birmingham with last month’s 1-1 draw at West Bromwich Albion and culminated in the hugely entertaining draw with high-flying Tottenham at Molineux two weekends ago.

And they are hopeful of a return to action for Ireland international midfielder Stephen Hunt, after six weeks on the sidelines with a calf injury.

The 29-year-old said last week: “Hopefully within the next week I’ll be back training. After that it’s up to the gaffer when I’m involved. But I feel as fresh as a daisy.”

Winger Michael Knightly is even more confident of a return after coming through 82 minutes of the third reserve game of his playing comeback after a 15-month spell on the sidelines.

The 25-year-old said: “I definitely feel fit enough to come off the bench and it would be nice to play against Villa. If I could help the team it would be great. I feel like I’m ready to do that.”