Wolves are back at Molineux on Saturday afternoon as they face Brentford for the fourth time this season, six days on from their impressive display away at Stamford Bridge where Gary O’Neil’s side put four past Chelsea.
#1 Inside both camps
O’Neil’s squad head back to Molineux off the back of one of their most comprehensive away performances of the season, after comfortably beating Chelsea to move ahead of the Blues in the Premier League standings. With no injuries affecting the size of his small squad, the head coach will be pleased to see his side continue to expand in size with players returning from international duty, with the latest being Boubacar Traore and Hee Chan Hwang. The Mali midfielder headed back from the Africa Cup of Nations after their quarter-final exit, while Hwang, who remains Wolves' top scorer this season despite spending the last month away at the Asian Cup with South Korea, is also set to be back with the squad on Saturday following his semi-final defeat to Jordan on Tuesday.
Brentford will be aiming to get their first win against Wolves on Saturday after their previous three attempts came up short, but Thomas Frank’s men continue to be without several key men. Yoane Wissa and Frank Onyeka have both been away at AFCON since early January having led DR Congo and Nigeria to the semi-finals respectively, while Saman Ghoddos has been in Asian Cup semi-final action with Iran this week. On the injury front, Bryan Mbeumo is expected to be out until March, while Rico Henry’s season was cut short in September when he sustained an ACL rupture. Aaron Hickey and Kevin Shade are close to returning, but it is yet to be seen if they will be back in time for Saturday.
— Wolves (@Wolves) February 6, 2024
#2 Coming into it
Having seen their run of seven games unbeaten in all competitions – including an FA Cup win over Black Country rivals West Bromwich Albion – as well as nine without defeat at Molineux, come to an end dramatically against Manchester United last Thursday evening, Wolves were able to bounce back at the first time of asking in stunning fashion against Chelsea three days later. Falling behind to Cole Palmer’s neat finish against the run of play, O’Neil’s side dominated at Stamford Bridge and deservedly took a 4-1 lead into the closing moments, with the victory lifting Wolves into the top half of the Premier League table for the first time in 18 months.
Wolves’ last three | W 4-2 Chelsea (A) – L 3-4 Manchester United (H) – W 2-0 West Bromwich Albion (A)
Brentford’s run of seven games without a win in all competitions, which included two losses to the Old Gold as well as a draw in the original FA Cup tie at the Gtech Community Stadium, finally ended three matches ago with a 3-2 win at home to Nottingham Forest, with the game coinciding with the return of Ivan Toney from his eight-month suspension. It took just 19 minutes for the forward to get his first goal of the season, as he inspired his team to victory. However, two games against ‘big six’ sides Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City last week saw the Bees suffer successive defeats.
Brentford’s last three | L 1-3 Manchester City (H) – L 2-3 Tottenham Hotspur (A) – W 3-2 Nottm Forest (H)
#3 Since last time
Wolves 3 Brentford 2 | 16th January 2024
Matheus Cunha fired home from the penalty spot to set up the Black Country derby after Wolves shaded a five-goal FA Cup classic with Brentford. Nathan Collins scored on his return to Molineux, but Wolves responded through Nelson Semedo, before Neal Maupay regained the Bee’s advantage swiftly after the break. But academy graduate Nathan Fraser drilled home to take the tie into extra time, before Cunha’s decisive goal arrived at the end of the first additional 15 minutes.
Wolves’ XI | Sa, Semedo, Kilman, S. Bueno, Toti, Doherty, Hodge, Doyle, Sarabia, Bellegarde, Cunha.
Since their last meeting in January, O’Neil has seen several of his internationals return to the squad, with Rayan Ait-Nouri and Joao Gomes playing pivotal roles in the win over Chelsea on Sunday, as did Mario Lemina and Craig Dawson who have also come back into the team after compassionate leave and injury respectively. For Brentford, regular first-choice keeper Mark Flekken has got his place back for the Bees’ Premier League fixtures, but the team’s biggest change since last time they were at Molineux was the return to action of Toney – the England forward has scored twice in his three outings since coming back from suspension.
Brentford XI | Strakosha, Roerslev, Collins, Ajer, Mee, Lewis-Potter, Damsgaard, Janelt, Jensen, Dasilva, Maupay.
#4 In the media
With Wolves being the Premier League’s lowest scorers last season, Sky Sports’ Adam Bate believes head coach Gary O’Neil deserves plenty of praise for ‘galvanising’ the squad into a team which has found the net on average 1.61 times per match – their best return since returning to the top flight in 2018.
“When Wolves beat Brentford 4-1 just after Christmas, it was the first time that the club had won an away game by scoring four goals in Premier League history. Just five weeks later, against Chelsea, Gary O’Neil’s team managed to do it again. The 4-2 win at Stamford Bridge will be framed in the context of a Chelsea crisis but there is another side to the story. Wolves, the Premier League's lowest scorers last season, are on course for their best goals-per-game record in the top division for 60 years.
“He galvanised the group quickly, his diligence winning over the players - and then the supporters. Beating Manchester City and Tottenham created some memories. Winning away at West Bromwich Albion for the first time in 28 years helped too. The togetherness has been striking. Relationships had to be built on the fly but thanks to hours on the training ground and the insights that have helped to improve performances, it is working. O'Neil has simply made so many of these Wolves players better.”
‘Beesotted’ podcast’s Ian Westbrook believes Brentford’s recent defeats against Spurs and Man City have given fans ‘encouraging signs’ that Thomas Frank’s side will soon be climbing up the Premier League table.
“We took the lead in each match – both times through Neal Maupay, who made it five goals in five games. The Bees were also competitive in both fixtures for a while – the 10-minute spell straight after half-time ruining a good display at Spurs, and against City we had three good chances to make it 2-2 before Phil Foden’s hat-trick goal sealed their victory.
“The other positive thing to come out of Monday’s defeat was goalkeeper Mark Flekken’s performance. The Dutchman has had a difficult first few months at Brentford. But in by far his best Bees performance, he made no fewer than 12 saves, including seven in the first half, the joint-highest in a Premier League game for more than six years, and also assisted Maupay’s goal. He looked a different player to what we’ve seen so far, with a couple of his stops really good and a new air of confidence about him.”
