Wolves take on Brighton & Hove Albion at Molineux this Saturday afternoon looking to get back to winning ways after their historic run of Premier League victories was brought to an end last time out, and wolves.co.uk has previewed the fixture.
1 | Roll Call
Wolves were almost at full strength last Friday evening against Manchester City, but were missing one key player as striker Jorgen Strand Larsen was absent in the narrow defeat as a groin injury kept him in the treatment room. The Norwegian – who has 13 goals so far in his first season in English football – has been back training with the team at Compton Park this week, so could mark his return to the side on Saturday. Fellow striker Sasa Kalajdzic has also been back on the grass this week after 14 months out with an ACL injury but the Austrian won’t be re-joining the matchday squad until next season as he is eased back to fitness and Vitor Pereira confirmed Hee Chan Hwang is also training despite a 'small problem'.
Fabian Hurzeler’s team selection for the trip to the Black Country this weekend was given a big boost with the news Kaoru Mitoma is set to be available after recovering from a heel injury. The Japanese winger has been struggling defeat to Crystal Palace five weeks ago, and after appearing from the bench against Brentford and West Ham United, was ruled out completely from last weekend’s draw at Newcastle United. But in his pre-match press conference Hurzeler confirmed Mitoma has trained this week so will be an option for the visit to Wolves, however, Brighton will still be without fellow forward Joao Pedro who is serving the third and final game of his suspension. The game is also too soon for Solly March, Ferdi Kadioglu, Georginio Rutter and James Milner.
2 | The Stat Pack
Goals
- Matheus Cunha | 17
- Danny Welbeck | 10
Assists
- Rayan Ait-Nouri | 7
- Joao Pedro | 7
Biggest win
- Wolves 3-0 Leicester City | April 2025
- Southampton 0-4 Brighton | February 2025
Cards
- Joao Gomes | 10
- Carlos Baleba | 8
Clean sheets
- Jose Sa | 7
- Bart Verbruggen | 8
⚽️ Ait-Nouri, 88'
— Wolves (@Wolves) May 8, 2025
⚽️ Cunha, 90'
Leaving it late to level things up at Brighton earlier this season 🍿 pic.twitter.com/wxsB9TI9E7
3 | Journey to Saturday
Wolves were the most in-form team across Europe’s top five leagues going into last Friday’s visit to Manchester City, thanks to six consecutive Premier League wins for the first time in the club’s history, but a narrow defeat at the Etihad in which Wolves hit the post several times and were a threat throughout ultimately saw Pereira’s side suffer their first loss in eight outings. Before then, Wolves has overcome the likes of Europa League finalists Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur to move themselves up to 13th in the Premier League standings during an April which saw the team win 100 per cent of their matches and earn the Portuguese the Premier League’s Manager of the Month award.
By contrast, Brighton experienced a difficult April, winning just one of their five matches thanks to a late comeback at home to West Ham United. Following a run of four consecutive wins in early spring, the Seagulls picked up just two points from their following five, with defeats coming against Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Brentford. Hurzeler’s side also experienced draws against Manchester City, Leicester City and Newcastle United, with the tie versus the Magpies coming last Sunday at the Amex as Yankuba Minteh’s strike was cancelled out by a late Alexander Isak penalty.
4 | A rare Molineux win against the Seagulls
Wolves’ Premier League record at Molineux against Brighton is not the strongest, with the Old Gold having beaten the side from the south coast just once at home in the top flight of English football – and never in front of supporters.
That only Wolves win came exactly four years ago – 9th May 2021 – during the 2020/21 season which was played in empty stadiums due to the Covid-19 pandemic, as Morgan Gibbs-White’s first Premier League goal completed a fine comeback victory. Brighton had led at the break thanks to a towering Lewis Dunk header, but it was the defender’s red card for pulling back Fabio Silva which changed the game. Wolves dominated from that point and earned their deserved equaliser when Adama Traore exchanged passes with Silva and fired home. That leveller set up the grandstand finish Nuno Espirito Santo had been looking for and, after passing up a fine opportunity to win it, Gibbs-White made his own luck, pouncing on a ricochet and producing a sumptuous finish to earn all three points.
Wolves | Patricio, Hoever, Coady, Kilman, Ait-Nouri, Neves (Traore 61), Moutinho, Vitinha (Dendoncker 77), Gibbs-White, Podence (Jose 69), Silva.
Brighton | Sanchez, White, Webster, Dunk, Burn, Gross, Bissouma, Jahanbakhsh (Moder 57), Trossard (Mac Allister 57), Maupay, Welbeck (Zeqiri 78).
