A trip to South Yorkshire awaits Wolves on Sunday lunchtime and below is all you need to know pre-match.
Roll Call
Wolves’ opening day draw with Blackburn Rovers saw two of Cesar Peixoto’s starters, Kieran Trippier and Yerson Mosquera, pick up injuries which have kept them out since, but the squad was handed a boost this week with Trippier returning to full training and a possible squad option for Sunday. Mosquera is back on the grass for the first time this week carrying out individual training, although he is still a way off being fully fit while Peixoto revealed Rafiki Said will be back in full training next week. Jean-Ricner Bellegarde is in contention for a place in the team after recovering from a hamstring injury he sustained in pre-season, and new signing Bertrand Traore could also feature for the first time since moving to Molineux earlier this week, while Ghislain Konan is still awaiting his debut having been an unused substitute at St Andrews last weekend.
Chris Wilder has made several tactical tweaks to his Sheffield United side during the opening month of the season, making it difficult for Wolves to know how the Blades are going to line up this weekend. The side has been left with a gap in the number 10 position after Callum O’Hare’s deadline day move to Wrexham, but the signing of Jordan Ayew, will add some experience in the forward areas. Wilder is also sweating on the fitness of Tahith Chong, Ryan One and Femi Seriki who are all close to recovering from muscle injuries, while Kalvin Phillips continues to build up fitness after appearing off the bench in last four games, and could be pushing for his first Championship start.
The form guide
Unlike Sheffield United, Wolves have had a clear midweek to prepare for Sunday’s game. Cesar Peixoto will have been glad of training pitch time after two eventful away games, which brought just one point, but it could have been more. The Old Gold twice led at Birmingham City but were forced to settle for a point after big chances went begging. The key moments went against Wolves at West Ham United the previous Tuesday too, when a 4-2 loss was the first defeat suffered this season. Previously Peixoto’s side did beat Preston North End and Stoke City convincingly, so will want to return to that level in South Yorkshire.
The Blades banished the memory of defeat last weekend with a comeback win at Blackburn Rovers on Tuesday night which lifted them to nine points and a place just outside of the play-offs. Last time at Bramall Lane United were beaten 3-1 by Norwich City, but it’s been a mixed bag so far for Chris Wilder’s side, who also beat Bolton Wanderers and began the campaign with back-to-back 0-0 draws against Birmingham City and Swansea City.
Opening day success
Raul Jimenez will hope to be on target in a Wolves shirt on Sunday, and the last time the Old Gold won at Bramall Lane, that was the case. In September 2020 the Premier League season was starting late due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and the fixture began a largely forgettable campaign behind-closed-door. It was a good evening for the Old Gold however, with Jimenez netting just three minutes in and Romain Saiss adding a second after another three. That early double stunned the Blades and then never responded, as Wolves won on the opening day.
Nuno said: “We knew. It’s clear that Sheffield United would start fast and the message was let’s start faster than them. We saw our energy, what we have, and we dealt with it. The ideal was clear to start fast. We were effective, the first two times we arrived at their box, we scored, and that makes a lot of difference. Sheffield United are a fantastic team, they nailed us in the box, created a lot of problems, but we stayed in the game, so I’m happy for it.”
Wolves | Patricio, Traore, Boly, Coady, Saiss, Marcal, Moutinho (Vitinha 86), Dendoncker, Neto (Buur 69), Podence (Neves 76), Jimenez.
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