#1 Flattering to deceive
If small moments would have gone Wolves’ way in their opening two matches of the campaign, then we could easily be sitting here today having gathered six points from a possible six and looking up the Premier League table. But instead, Bruno Lage’s men have just the one to their name. Two mistakes in defence against Leeds United in an otherwise thrilling display of football at Elland Road on the opening day were enough for the hosts to earn victory, while it was a lack of clinical finishing in front of goal by those in gold shirts which led to last weekend’s goalless draw against Fulham.
Despite showing plenty of positives in both of those fixtures, Lage was left disappointed with the results and pointed to parallels with the start of last season, which also saw his side struggle in front of goal – as they went without a goal in their opening three matches – in spite of creating a host of opportunities. Although the change in system to a back four has seen more bodies in the attacking third of the pitch in the past few weeks, Lage will be hoping the recent signings of Goncalo Guedes and Matheus Nunes will prove to be a key difference in the ball ending up in the back of the net.
#2 New blood in the side
Talking of new signings, Saturday could be the first chance Wolves fans have to see the man who has smashed the club’s transfer record on the way to being brought to Molineux, in Nunes. The former Sporting midfielder was one of the most sought-after players across Europe this summer, so it came as a shock to many in world football to discover that he will be playing his football in old gold for the 2022/23 season having signed on the dotted line on Wednesday.
A dynamic midfielder who is adapt at either end of the pitch will hope to provide the perfect foil for Lage’s new captain and his international teammate Ruben Neves, while giving the option of utilising a two-man or three-man set-up in the centre of the park with Joao Moutinho and Leander Dendoncker. The options don’t just stop in midfield, but with the addition of Guedes, Lage now has a plethora of attacking decisions to make.
Familiar faces.
— Wolves (@Wolves) August 18, 2022
🇵🇹👊 pic.twitter.com/V3klydd9o3
#3 North London is gold
Tottenham have lost four of their previous seven home league games against Wolves, and as mentioned at the top, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has been a happy hunting ground for Wolves, who have lost just once at the new ground – but that was behind closed doors two years ago – while tasting success twice, including a comfortable 2-0 win in North London last season. Raul Jimenez struck a neatly-placed volley early on in the contest, before Dendoncker was on hand to fire home from close-range just ten minutes later to put Wolves in control. Wolves also beat Spurs in their first visit to the stadium in March 2020 – their final Premier League away match before Covid-19 struck football – with Jimenez on the scoresheet once again to secure a 3-2 victory.
The common denominator in these recent away matches against Spurs is the Mexican. Without him in the side during the 2020/21 season following his life-threatening injury, Wolves suffered their one loss at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. In fact, since he joined the club in summer 2018, Wolves have won just 29 per cent of their Premier League matches in which Jimenez hasn’t featured, so everyone will be having their fingers crossed that he can make a speedy recovery from his recent troubles which left him out of the season’s openers.
#4 Decisions to be made
As previously mentioned, there are plenty of decisions for Lage to make this weekend, especially with several players returning to full fitness and a Carabao Cup clash with Preston coming up next Tuesday. Last weekend saw the first appearances of new man Guedes – albeit for just the final 30 minutes off the bench, while Nelson Semedo and Adama Traore continued their recovery from injury with just over 10 minutes each. Add Joao Moutinho – who was back on the training pitches this week – and Nunes into the mix, as well as the sale of Morgan Gibbs-White (who has started both matches so far this season) to Nottingham Forest, then Lage has something of a selection headache.
But the players Lage picks to line up on Saturday lunchtime will be based around the formation he opts for. Will the head coach stick with a front four with two midfields as he has done so far this season for the visit to Spurs or will he mix it up and opt for a front three with three midfielders backing up? We can’t even rule out Lage matching up Antonio Conte’s men with the old tried and trusted back five which has served Wolves well during the past five years. But whatever system Lage intends to play, with the new signings and those returning from injury adding to the numbers, there will be plenty of talent among the gold and black ranks come 12.30pm tomorrow.
