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Wolves v Manchester United Preview

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Wolves will look to end a disappointing season on a high note as they face Manchester United at Molineux on Sunday. 

Richarlison’s header at Goodison Park on Wednesday succumbed Wanderers to their second straight away defeat as they lost 1-0 to Everton, but Nuno’s side did win their last home outing against Brighton a fortnight ago. 

Since securing a Champions League place and a first second place finish in three years, United are winless in three and are expected to heavily rotate their side ahead of Wednesday’s Europa League final against Villarreal in Gdansk. 

Kick off at Molineux is at 4pm and the game will be broadcast on BT Sport.

 

Wolves form

In any other part of the season Wolves’ last two defeats and the lack of attacking edge surrounding them may have sparked concern, but with Nuno’s side having had nothing to play for for the best part of five months now, everyone around Molineux is simply desperate for the season to end. Thankfully, they’ll get their wish at 6pm on Sunday. 

Wanderers produced just six shots on target in their last two defeats to Tottenham and Everton, which will probably surprise most who endured both games. At the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium especially Wolves were completely devoid of any attacking threat and the scoreline flattered them, while at Goodison an uncharacteristically impressive first half showing fizzled out as the second 45 wore on. 

Although Wolves’ squad simply isn’t good enough to compete in the Premier League and their manager has always been safety-first since promotion to the top-flight, it’s been disappointing that their nothing-to-play-for status hasn’t produced some entertaining football. Adama Traore has played well for most of Wolves’ recent games, but he is currently being expected to produce goals almost single-handedly, which hasn’t been possible since Lewis Dunk’s dismissal two weeks ago. 

With just 90 more miserable minutes to contend with, it would be nice if Nuno’s side could send their 4,500 returning fans home feeling even slightly entertained. 

 

Manchester United form

Although facing the second place team on the final day of the campaign would normally be a daunting prospect, there’s no doubt United have their sights set on other goals.

Since beating Aston Villa and securing their Champions League status for next campaign two weeks ago United have lost to Leicester (albeit with a heavily rotated side) and Liverpool and drawn with relegated Fulham, signalling their intention to focus on Wednesday’s final in Poland. 

With absolutely nothing to play for in the league and a huge final around the corner it’s not expected that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will field any of his big hitters at Molineux, it’s hard to pick a player that Wolves should look out for. Should they be involved in any capacity, Bruno Fernandes and Edinson Cavani will cause Wolves all manner of problems, with the latter especially hitting great form in the final couple of months of the season. 

 

Wolves v Manchester United team news

While rumours persisted over the last couple of weeks that Raul Jimenez may be involved on the bench against United, the Mexican will not return until the start of next season following tests on his skull this week. 

As well as Jimenez, Pedro Neto, Daniel Podence and Jonny will not be involved on Sunday, while John Ruddy is expected to start in what may well prove to be his final game for Wolves. 

As mentioned previously United are expected to heavily rotate their side, with Scott McTominay and Fred unlikely to be involved after picking up knocks against Fulham on Tuesday. 

Captain Harry Maguire and Anthony Martial will miss out and face unlikely races against time to be fit for Gdansk, while Daniel James is a minor doubt after returning from injury.

 

Wolves line up prediction: Ruddy; Hoever, Coady, Boly, Ait-Nouri; Neves, Moutinho; Traore, Vitinha, Gibbs-White; Silva.

 

Wolves v Manchester United head to head

United will head to Molineux for a league game for the first time in almost two years, with Ruben Neves’ brilliant long-range strike earning Wolves a 1-1 draw in August 2019. 

Remarkably, Solskjaer’s side haven’t won at Molineux in four visits in any competition since Wolves returned to the Premier League in 2018, including two 2-1 defeats in 2018-19 and 1-1 and 0-0 draws in league and cup in 2019-20.

United’s last win at Molineux came in a 5-0 success under Sir Alex Ferguson in March 2012. 

 

Wolves v Manchester United prediction

 

With neither side seemingly interested in playing this game, this one really could go either way.

United are probably favourites, even if they are expected to make eight to 11 changes, although their already depleted back line being rotated even further could cause trouble. 

Or at least it would against any other side. Wolves have scored one goal against a side with 11 men on the field in their last five games, are on course for their second-lowest ever Premier League goal tally and have had almost no forward threat since Raul Jimenez went off at the Emirates. 

It could end up being the stoppable force against the moveable object, but it’s hard to back anything but a United win to cap off one of the dullest seasons in recent Wolves history. 

 

Prediction: Wolves 0-2 Manchester United

 

James Wynn is part of the Talking Wolves editorial team – you can follow him on Twitter here.

Everton vs Wolves – Match Preview 

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Wolves travel to Goodison Park on Wednesday evening in what will be their first game in a stadium with supporters since their last trip to Merseyside. A 4-0 defeat to Liverpool in December.  6,500 Everton fans will support their side who are in desperate need of a victory if they are to secure a European place this season.

 

Wolves Form 

Wolves have had an indifferent run of form in the past few weeks with two wins, two defeats and a draw in the last five games. Sunday’s performance away at Tottenham was underwhelming, with Wolves beaten in every department on the pitch and a score line which in truth flattered Nuno’s side. There have been plenty of positives from games against West Brom and Brighton with Wolves’ youngsters performing well, but the defeat at Tottenham will be an important learning curve for them ahead of the trip to Everton. 

 

Opposition form 

Interestingly, Everton’s form mirrors that of Wolves with two wins, two defeats and a draw in their last five games. It had looked as though Carlo Ancelotti’s side were destined for a European place this season, but their recent inconsistencies have now cast doubt over that, with a top seven place no longer in their hands. Sundays defeat at home to Sheffield United was their most damaging defeat of the season, leaving them three points behind West Ham and low on confidence and already relegated Sheffield United deserved their win. Everton have struggled at home this season, with a better record away from home than on Merseyside. 

 

Team News

Nuno stuck with a back four for the game against Tottenham and is likely to continue to do so for the final two games of the season. There were, however, some surprising changes to the line-up that had beaten Brighton. Max Kilman will once again be wondering what he has to do to earn a regular starting place in the side as he was replaced by Romain Saiss. Ruben Neves also dropped to the bench, but Spurs’ midfield domination is likely to mean he will come back into the side for the trip to Everton, most likely in place of Moutinho. KI-Jana Hoever struggled against Reguilon and Bale and is likely to drop out, with Rayan Ait-Nouri coming back into the side. This will allow Nelson Semedo to move back to his more familiar right-hand side. Nuno confirmed after the defeat to Spurs that Daniel Podence will now receive surgery for an ongoing groin problem and will therefore miss the rest of the season. Wily Boly and Marcal have continued to train and are likely to once again be part of the matchday squad, but it would be a surprise to see either start at Goodison Park. Raul Jimenez is reportedly fit and raring to go, but he is awaiting confirmation form his specialist as to when he will be available for selection again.

 

Likely Line Up: Patricio, Semedo, Coady, Saiss, Ait-Nouri, Neves, Dendoncker, Traore, Gibbs-White, Vitinha, Silva (Subs: Ruddy, Kilman, Hoever, Boly, Marcal, Moutinho, Cundle, Jose)

 

Everton have a near fully fit squad for Wednesday, with just one known absence of Yerry Mina who is suffering from an adductor injury. James Rodriguez has returned from injury and started the game against Sheffield United, but did not look fit and was withdrawn in the second half. Everton are likely to match Wolves formation wise, adopting a 4-2-3-1 formation, led by Dominic Calvert-Lewin whose early season goal rush seems to have dried up somewhat. 

 

Head-to-head 

Historically, Everton have had the better of Wolves, coming out on top 62 times in the 135 competitive games between two of English football’s oldest sides. Wolves have won 46 times against the Toffees. It has been very much honours even since promotion between the two sides, with both Everton and Wolves winning twice in addition to the draw in Wolves’ first game back in the topflight back in August 2018. Everton won the reverse fixture 2-1 at Molineux in early January, sparking an alarming downturn in form for Wolves who slid down the table before an upturn in results in February. 

 

Prediciton

As has been the case for most of the season, you just do not know what you will get from Wolves. If Vitinha, Gibbs-White and Silva can replicate their promising performances against West Brom and Brighton, Wolves will certainly cause Everton problems. Adama Traore caused Everton problems at Molineux last year up against Digne and Holgate, something he will look to replicate. However, Wolves are always vulnerable with a back four and Everton’s plethora of attacking talent have unperformed recently. With the addition of 6,500 supporters behind them, it is hard to make a case for a Wolves clean sheet. Despite this, Everton’s form and home record is poor, and they are under immense pressure to finish in the top seven. If Wolves’ youngsters express themselves as we know they can, and lessons can be learnt from Sunday’s defeat, Nuno’s men can get a result at Goodison Park.

 

Prediction: Everton 1-1 Wolves      

 

Ciaran Barker is part of the Talking Wolves editorial team – you can follow him on Twitter here.

Hawthorns shithole

West Bromwich Albion v Wolves Match Preview

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Wolves face West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League at The Hawthorns off the back of a humiliating 4-0 defeat to Burnley. Wolves were shambolic last time out and face an Albion side clinging on to a small glimmer of hope of retaining their Premier League status. The Black Country derby takes place on bank holiday Monday, May 3 and kicks-off at 6pm live on Sky Sports. 

 

Wolves form 

 

Wolves ended a two-game winning run with last Sunday’s collapse against Burnley at Molineux. The 1-0 wins over Fulham and Sheffield United were not exactly convincing either and up against a team who Wolves rarely play well against, they were exposed defensively and made to look rather silly against Chris Wood and co. 

 

There wasn’t really any positives from that game other than we are one step closer to this horrible season ending. 

 

They usually say that form goes out of the window or a derby fixture but with Wolves’ tepid performances for the best part of 12 months, I’m pretty sure even without the Burnley result, Wolves would not be looking forward to this game. 

 

Having said that, Wolves sit 12th in the league table and barring a huge goal difference swing, they can’t actually lose a position. Although Palace in 13th do have a game in hand. 

 

West Brom form

 

West Brom look all but set to join Sheffield United in the Championship next season however they are still not down and out just yet. Two recent impressive wins included a 3-0 win over Southampton and a 5-2 away win at Stamford Bridge when Thiago Silva was sent off inside 30 minutes. They followed this up with a 3-0 defeat to Leicester before conceding a 92nd minute Keinan Davis equaliser vs Aston Villa last weekend. 

 

They have still only won five games this season, one of those coming in their 3-2 win at Molineux, which I’ll sadly recap shortly. 

 

Matheus Pereira has been their dangerman this season whilst recent addition Mbaye Diagne has scored a couple of goals however time is running out for the home side. Nevertheless, a win over a tame Wolves outfit would keep them in the league for a little bit longer.

 

West Brom vs Wolves Team News

 

From what we know, Wolves are likely to be without long-term absentees Raul Jimenez, Pedro Neto, Jonny Castro Otto and Marcal. Joao Moutinho missed the Burnley mess with an injury picked up in training. 

 

Nuno has been reluctant to change things even with safety all but secure and after every heavy defeat this season, he has placed an even bigger emphasis on defending and protecting a clean sheet. Wolves can’t defend in a four or five, so if he wants to play with a four going forward, he needs to play it and stick with it. 

 

Potential side: Patricio, Semedo, Boly, Coady, Ait-Nouri, Neves, Moutinho, Podence, Vitinha, Traore, Silva. 

 

Robert Snodgrass looks like he could return for Albion with Branislav Ivanovic the only other injury doubt for Sam Allardyce. 

 

West Brom vs Wolves Head-to-Head

 

Wolves suffered an embarrassing 3-2 defeat at Molineux back in January in the reverse fixture.

 

Pereira scored twice either side of a Semi Ajayi strike as goals from Fabio Silva and Willy Boly wasn’t enough for Wolves to gain anything from the game.  

 

Referee Michael Oliver had a poor game gifting West Brom a penalty for a foul that was outside of the box and he then failed to award Wolves a penalty when Kieran Gibbs quite obviously caught the ball in the penalty area. Oliver also gave West Brom another penalty for a very soft foul but away from that, Albion were fired up and wanted the victory more than Wolves. You’d expect the same on Monday.

 

Albion have won the last three games between the teams and have the better overall record, winning 65 games compared to Wolves’ 53. 

 

Prediciton

 

Nuno has relayed his messages about competing in games and trying to cut out mistakes. On Friday, he told the media that this week (in training) had been good and that this game “means a lot to us and the fans. We are going compete. We have to compete.”

 

Wolves have to show some desire and fight on Monday. They had none of it against Burnley and looked like they didn’t care. 

 

This is probably not the ideal game to bounce back from a thrashing but if the players can’t get up for a local derby, then there is something wrong.

 

We’ve seen Wolves struggle defensively this season and that isn’t going to change overnight but Wolves are a better team than West Brom and if they can avoid making silly mistakes that lead directly to goals, they may be able to take something from this game. For that, they need to attack a defence that has conceded 64 goals this season, but Wolves aren’t exactly a free-scoring team. 

 

I expect Nuno to play it cautiously and try and grind out a 1-0 win. Wolves seem more bothered about not losing than trying to win, but when you struggle to defend, there’s no point in playing for a draw. 

 

Prediction: West Brom 1-1 Wolves. 

 

Taran Dhamrait is part of the Talking Wolves editorial team – you can follow him on Twitter here.

Wolves stadium

Wolves vs Burnley Match Preview 

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Wolves host Burnley live on the BBC this Sunday and will look to make it three wins on the bounce for the first time this season. Nuno’s men have all but secured safety with recent victories over Fulham and Sheffield United, and could draw level on points with local rivals Aston Villa with victory at Molineux. 

 

Wolves Form 

Last Saturday’s victory over Sheffield United wasn’t exactly one to get the adrenaline going. Perhaps a Saturday night kick off in front of a packed Molineux may have made it more bearable, but in truth it was yet another lacklustre performance. There were positives for sure, most obviously Willian Jose’s first goal for Wolves and yet another assist for Adama Traore. It also meant Wolves had secured back-to-back wins after a five-game winless run and were now comfortable in mid table. The chance of a top half finish remains alive, but Wolves will have to improve their performance levels if they are to continue their winning run to the end of the season. 

 

Opposition form 

Burnley have lost their last three games, the most recent of which was a spirited 3-1 defeat at Old Trafford last Sunday. The Clarets are not mathematically safe but will think that one more win should be enough. A run of 4 without defeat including an impressive win away at Everton steered Sean Dyche’s side towards safety as they look to secure yet another topflight season. 

 

Team News

Wolves will welcome back Ruben Neves after he has completed his isolation after contracting COVID-19. Having missed the majority of training leading up to the game, Nuno is likely to stick with the midfield pairing of Leander Dendoncker and Joao Moutinho, with Neves taking his place on the substitute bench. Nuno reverted to a back three formation against Sheffield United and may stick with this to ensure Wolves have the height and physicality to combat Burnley’s strengths. The likes of Boly, Saiss, Dendoncker and Jose will all be needed at set pieces where many of Burnley’s goals tend to come from. With safety all but secured, many fans are calling for the likes of Vitinha, Otasowie and Silva to be given more game time, and there is certainly an argument for that. If Nuno opted to go with Vitinha and Silva, Wolves’ focus would be on themselves, and trying to use their technical ability to get round Burnley rather than focusing the opposition’s strengths. However, given Nuno’s track record when it comes to team selection, the former is far more likely.

 

Likely Line Up: Patricio, Boly, Coady, Saiss, Semedo, Moutinho, Dendoncker, Ait-Nouri, Podence, Jose, Traore (Subs: Ruddy, Hoever, Neves, Kilman, Gibbs-White, Vitinha, Otasowie, Silva)

 

Burnley are without key players Robbie Brady and Ashley Barnes for the trip to Molineux, but otherwise have a clean bill of health. For the most part, Burnley play with a 4-4-2 but do occasionally change to a 4-5-1 for away games. Dyche opted for a midfield five for the defeat at Old Trafford and Burnley put in a balanced and promising performance. Had Marcus Rashford strike not deflected in late on, Burnley could easily have taken a point. However, given Wolves’ inability of playing against Burnley’s front two in recent seasons, it is more than possible the away side will revert to a 4-4-2 for the trip to the Midlands. 

 

Head-to-head 

As two founder members of the Football League, Burnley and Wolves have played 134 competitive games against each other with Wolves often gaining the upper hand, winning 66 of those encounters. The Clarets have won just 39 of those games but have certainly come out on top in more recent history. Wolves have beaten the Lancashire side just once, a victory which was Wolves’ first home win in the Premier League following promotion in 2018. Raul Jimenez’s second half strike gave Nuno’s men all three points. However, that is Wolves’ only victory over Burnley since 2010, with both games ending all square last season, and Burnley edging past Wolves in December.

 

Prediciton

Despite its Sunday afternoon slot on the BBC, this game is unlikely to capture the attention of many neutrals. Neither side have been particularly good to watch this season. Wolves’ victory over Sheffield United was far from a thriller, but it was also good to see Wolves get all three points when not playing at their best, something they have done well in the previous two seasons but a trait that has gone amiss this season. As mentioned, Wolves have struggled to cope with Burnley at both ends of the pitch in recent seasons, finding it difficult to break down a stern and determined defence while also facing difficulties against the physicality they pose in the area. Wolves have improved since their poor showing at Turf Moor in December, particularly defensively. They will know what to expect and I would like to think they will keep Burnley’s threats to a minimum but based on recent performances it is hard to see Wolves breaking down the Burnley defence and going on to win the game. 

 

Prediction: Wolves 1-1 Burnley    

 

Ciaran Barker is part of the Talking Wolves editorial team – you can follow him on Twitter here.