#1 A Premier League first
With Wolves now in their fifth consecutive season in the top-flight, the club has become used to playing against the best teams in the country week in, week out, but every year there comes a time when the gold and black go up against a side who they might not have met for a very long time, and that is exactly what is happening this weekend. With Forest heading to Molineux, it marks the first time the two teams have ever gone head-to-head in the Premier League.
While meeting often in the second tier throughout the past 30 years, Forest have not been present in the Premier League since the 1998/99 season when Wolves were still trying their hardest to earn promotion, but since that year, Wolves have enjoyed nine campaigns at the summit of the English football pyramid, with Forest becoming the perennial promotion strugglers. This means the last time the teams faced off in the top-flight was all the way back in March 1984, with Wolves winning 1-0 thanks to a Paul Hart own goal.
Putting in the work.
— Wolves (@Wolves) October 12, 2022
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#2 Form books in the balance
Neither Wolves nor Forest are currently sat where they would like to be in the Premier League table, with the teams separated by just a single point in 18th and 19th position respectively, meaning Saturday’s game will be referred to as a ‘six pointer’, with the winners having a chance of moving out of the relegation zone thanks to a three point haul which are much needed. Despite a season which has seen the sides pick up just a single win each, the recent form books when the teams have met are currently in the balance.
Saturday’s hosts have lost just one of their past seven league games against Forest – winning four and drawing two, including a 4-0 Carabao Cup victory the last time the sides went head-to-head last season. Wolves have also lost just one of their past 11 Premier League games against promoted sides – winning five and drawing the others. However, Forest have won three of their past five away league games against Wolves, including the last time they visited Molineux in a Championship fixture back in January 2018 as the side from the East Midlands secured a 2-0 win, more than they had in their previous 20 visits to the Black Country, where they won just two but lost 15 times to the side in gold and black.
#3 Skipper back in contention
With the search for a new head coach continuing, interim bosses Steve Davis and James Collins will remain in place for Saturday’s visit of Forest, with the pair set to make big decisions once again if they are to earn Wolves’ first win in four. From the side they selected to run out at Chelsea last weekend, there is at least one change which is likely to be made with captain Ruben Neves returning to the squad following his one-match suspension, while centre-back Nathan Collins is still out of the reckoning, as he serves the final game of his three-match ban.
Having picked up the Castore Player of the Month awards for both August and September, it’s unlikely Neves won’t come straight back into the side at Molineux, but that begs the question as to what system Davis and Collins will opt for, including which player misses out. But there are several young options who were on the bench last weekend, including winger Chem Campbell – fresh off signing a new four-year contract with the club – Joe Hodge, who made his senior debut in gold and black when he came on at half-time in west London, while Connor Ronan is yet to make a Premier League appearance for the club, despite being named among the substitutes seven times this term.
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— Wolves (@Wolves) October 12, 2022
#4 Return of the old, old gold stars
With plenty of Wolves Academy talent pushing on the doors of a first-team start in old gold, there is one former academy graduate who is almost definitely going to be present on the Molineux pitch on Saturday in the form of Morgan Gibbs-White. The forward was one of 22 summer signings who checked in at the City Ground, with Forest setting a new British transfer record of club signings in a single window, beating the previous record of 19. But he’s been a key player in red so far this season, with two assists in his nine outings for Forest, including one at home to Aston Villa on Monday.
However, it’s not just Gibbs-White who is returning to his old stomping ground this weekend, with another Wolves Academy man in Wayne Hennessey, who is currently backing up Forest’s first-choice stopper Dean Henderson, and Willy Boly back at their old home ground. The Ivorian hasn’t enjoyed quite the Forest career as Gibbs-White has so far this term, with Boly making just one appearance under Steve Cooper, playing 63 minutes in a 3-2 home defeat to Fulham.
