Wolves vs Southampton | U23 Match preview

Wolves under-23s face last season's Division 2 rivals Southampton on Friday evening after the players were involved in both the Leasing.com Trophy and Carabao Cup mid-week.

Head coach Rob Edwards led an under-21 side to victory over Carlisle United in the ELF Trophy, featuring several of his regular players, while Bruno Jordao, Meritan Shabani, Taylor Perry and Dion Sanderson spent the week with the first-team for the EFL Cup win over Reading at Molineux.

However, the under-23s suffered two major blows with both Jordao and Shabani having to be taken off due to injury, and neither will be back in contention for the visit of the Saints to New Bucks Head.

Promoted to Premier League 2 Division 1 alongside Wolves last season after finished runners-up on goal difference behind their opponents, bottom of the table Southampton will be looking to get their second win of the season on Friday after picking up just one point from their previous five matches.

*You can catch all the action as Wolves under-23s take on Southampton on Friday evening, with the game available to view worldwide via WolvesTV and the Wolves App. Click here for more information of how to watch the game.

WHEN

Friday 7pm

WHERE

New Bucks Head, Telford

LAST THREE

Wolves

4-2 v Carlisle United (A) LCT

2-2 v Arsenal (H)

2-1 v Manchester City (A)

Southampton

0-2 v Chelsea (H)

2-2 v Tottenham Hotspur (A)

2-8 v Everton (A)

WHAT THE FORWARD THINKS

Striker Austin Samuels discusses Tuesday evening’s win over Carlisle and looks ahead to Friday night’s fixture against the Saints.

On a tough game at Brunton Park

“It was a tough game, to be honest. Physically it was quite different playing against League Two team compared to an under-23 side.

“I was playing in a different role to usual, and it involved a lot of running and tracking back. I moved out to wing-back in the second-half and I felt like I got used to it after a while.

“It was a shame I couldn’t get on the scoresheet during the first-half, but as a forward, if you don’t score then the next best thing you can do is try your hardest to help the rest of the team.”

On the visit of Southampton

“They might not have had the best of results so far this season, but they’re a good team - they showed that last season and were a tough team to play.

“But we’ve got good momentum now, we will take each game as it comes and hopefully can get the win.”

NEXT FIVE

27/09 Southampton (H)

01/10 Morecambe (A) LCT

20/10 Liverpool (A)

26/10 Tottenham Hotspur (H)

01/11 Derby County (A)

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