Wolves will look to bounce back from their disappointing defeat to Burnley when they face Tottenham at Molineux on Sunday.
Nuno’s side suffered their third defeat in four games at Turf Moor on Monday, as goals from Ashley Barnes and Chris Wood either side of half time gave the Clarets a 2-1 win, with Fabio Silva’s late penalty providing Wolves’ consolation.
Despite a near faultless start to the season, Spurs come into the game on a three-game winless run after a draw at Selhurst Park was followed by defeat at Anfield and at home to Leicester. However, Jose Mourinho’s side did reach the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday after beating Stoke 3-1 at the bet365 Stadium.
The game kicks off at 7.15pm on Sunday and will be broadcast on Sky Sports.
Wolves form
Despite being one of the league’s most inconsistent teams, confidence was high among the Wolves fans before Monday’s game against Burnley after Pedro Neto’s 95th minute winner against Chelsea six days before.
That changed at 4.30pm. Nuno’s decision to make four changes and start what seemed like a 352 (but turned out to be a 343 with Owen Otasowie as the focal point up front) was quite confusing at the start of the game, but utterly baffling at the end of it.
Prior to Fabio Silva’s introduction, Wolves failed to create a chance of note, looked devoid of attacking intent and found themselves 2-0 down through woefully defended goals from Barnes and Wood.
After the 18-year-old came on, Nuno’s side creates some chances and Silva won himself a penalty, which he then converted to get off the mark in gold and black, providing probably the only positive from a disappointing 90 minutes in Lancashire.
For the third game in a row, Wolves will find themselves turning up at Molineux looking to bounce back from a poor defeat.
Tottenham form
After suffering no league defeats from the opening day, things were looking good for top-of-the-table Tottenham a fortnight ago. Fast forward two weeks and two defeats and a draw have left Spurs in sixth place in the Premier League table.
A Jamie Vardy penalty and a Toby Alderweireld own goal led Spurs to a surprising home defeat to Leicester last weekend, which marked just the second time Mourinho’s side had failed to score all season.
However, Spurs did reach the Carabao Cup semi-finals with a 3-1 win against Stoke in midweek and, having been given a two-legged tie against Championship side Brentford, look set to reach their first domestic cup final in six years.
It goes without saying that Wolves will need to keep a close eye on deadly duo Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min, who have combined for 12 goals this season, while the two have scored six more league goals combined than the entire Wolves squad so far this campaign.
There is hope for Wanderers, however, after the pair barely had a kick against a Leicester side who kept them quiet throughout. The Foxes also created chances with ease at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, enjoying 17 attempts on goal against an unusually vulnerable Mourinho backline.
Wolves v Tottenham team news
Leander Dendoncker was absent at Turf Moor having picked up a knock in the first-half against Chelsea, and looks set to miss Sunday’s game having not trained with the team this week.
Fabio Silva’s impressive substitute performance against Burnley should see him recalled to the team, while Marcal is also likely to start having been rested in the defeat.
Despite starting Lloris, Dier, Hojbjerg, Bale and Kane against Stoke in midweek, Spurs have no fresh injury worries ahead of the trip to Molineux.
Having fallen out of favour and making a costly mistake at the bet365 Stadium, it’s unlikely Matt Doherty will start on his first game against Wolves since leaving in August for £15m.
Wolves lineup prediction: Patricio; Boly, Coady, Saiss; Semedo, Neves, Otasowie, Marcal; Neto, Silva, Podence.
Wolves v Tottenham head to head
Despite being unbeaten in their last three away games against Spurs, Wolves have struggled to beat the North London side at Molineux in recent encounters.
Spurs’ last visit to Wolverhampton saw Jan Vertonghen’s 90th minute header seal a smash-and-grab 2-1 win for Mourinho’s side, who had been put under the cosh by a superb Wolves performance for much of the game.
Wolves’ last Molineux win over Tottenham came in February 2010, with Dave Jones rounding off an 18-pass move to seal a 1-0 win for Mick McCarthy’s side, who did the double over Harry Redknapp’s Spurs in their first top-flight campaign for six years.
Wolves v Tottenham prediction
With goal-shy and defensively vulnerable Wolves facing one of the league’s best attacks, the smart bet is to back a heavy Tottenham win.
Nuno’s side were comfortably second best against Burnley, while Spurs have been one of the Premier League’s standout sides so far this campaign.
However, those exact same words were written about Wolves’ game with Chelsea a week-and-a-half ago, with Wanderers putting in a superb performance before clinching the game in stoppage time. When things look to be against him, Nuno tends to pull unexpected results out of the bag, and his side have a commendable and well-documented record against the ‘big six’.
Therefore, against all logic, form and reason, Wolves will pick up three points on Sunday.
Prediction: Wolves 2-1 Tottenham
James Wynn is part of the Talking Wolves editorial team – you can follow him on Twitter here.