#1 A happy hunting ground flipped
When Wolves returned to the Premier League in 2018, they enjoyed a perfect start to their reunion with West Ham United, winning the opening four clashes across the first two seasons without conceding a goal. However, the four fixtures since then have flipped the momentum, with the Hammers now the dominant side. The Londoners have won three of the past four meetings, including both in the capital, but if these runs of dominance for either team come in fours, it’s time for a swing back to the old gold. Of those past eight fixtures, Wolves have kept five clean sheets, all of which ended in victories, while the three times they didn’t, defeats followed.
Lage has tasted victory over the Hammers before, at Molineux last November, but just eight months ago Wolves were at the London Stadium, and it’s been all change since then. Seven of the players starting for Wolves that day are no longer at the club, while all 11 in claret and blue that day remain at West Ham. Will Saturday be a success for sticking or twisting?
#2 The mutual hunt for goals
For both Wolves and West Ham this season, goals have been hard to come by. Both sides have scored just three goals, meaning they share the league’s lowest scoring tally. So, all eyes will be on the attacking departments to produce the goods on Saturday evening. For Wolves, Diego Costa has been training with the group for three weeks now, and looking good according to the head coach, so when Lage said “let’s see tomorrow” when asked if he’ll start, excitement built. Elsewhere, Pedro Neto, Goncalo Guedes and Hee Chan Hwang are searching for first goals of the season, with the weekend the perfect moment for that to change.
For the Hammers, Michail Antonio was playing in the United States for Jamaica on Wednesday, and with just one Premier League goal to his name, David Moyes may look to Gianluca Scamacca, who has featured regularly this season, but only once from the start in the league. The Italian joined West Ham from Genoa in the summer and has bagged three times in the Europa Conference League, so could be set to start.
D I E G ☀️ pic.twitter.com/9UKVrb1abS
— Wolves (@Wolves) September 29, 2022
#3 Defensive continuity to end
For the first time this season, Lage will be forced to break up his central defensive pairing of Nathan Collins and Maximilian Kilman. That’s because the club’s summer signing from Burnley is suspended for the next three matches following his dismissal against Manchester City. Collins will be missing on Saturday, as well as against Chelsea and Nottingham Forest in the coming weeks, so Lage has a decision to make. The head coach hasn’t had to comprehend with this situation often before – it was only the third red card Wolves have collected under Lage’s reign, following a pair of Raul Jimenez dismissals last term.
When it comes to replacements, the head coach has options. Left-footed Toti played five times last term and impressed, having returned from Grasshoppers earlier in the year. Yerson Mosquera is yet to make his Premier League debut, following an unfortunate injury-hit first season in English football, but was first to warm up following Collins’ red card and is a right-footed option to fill in next to Kilman. Jonny too has played in a more central role in the past for Wolves, while Ruben Neves filled in their for the remainder of the City defeat.
#4 Guedes to come good
The arrival of Goncalo Guedes spread excitement across the old gold fan base in August and the Portuguese looked as likely as anyone to find the back of the net against Manchester City last time out. At 1-0, the attacker had a near post effort saved by Ederson, while after the break if he’d have connected cleanly with his half-chance after the break, Wolves may have been still in the game at 2-1. He’s been on interview duty this week, speaking to the media ahead of Saturday’s game, and spoke of the hunt for a goal.
He scored 19 times for Valencia but admitted the need for a win is greater than the personal satisfaction of finding the back of the net. The 25-year-old has played in a variety of positions across the Wolves front line during his opening seven games at the club and will be keen to retain his shirt and face West Ham for the first time in his career. It took the attacker six matches to get off the mark for his last club Valencia, so could it be match number eight in old gold?
