Our home form between now and the end of the season needs to carry us to safety.
Leeds, Chelsea, Brentford, Palace, Villa and Everton will all present tough challenges and I’m sure some of them will beat us, but there’s no reason Wolves can’t get a good share of the points.
It’s a weird season and we do have a habit of being the victim of high points requirements, but somewhere between 38-40 should be enough.
Despite the loss last weekend, we’ve managed 17 points from our last 11 matches. Repeat that for the final 11 and we won’t have anything to worry about. Easy, right?
Leeds
I thought Leeds were wrong to sack Jessie Marsch. Only because they seemed to have invested heavily in players to deploy his preferred high-energy style.
The results weren’t there to support him continuing but I thought he’d eventually do enough to move them away from safety.
Javi Gracia is a capable pair of hands, as we know from his time at Watford, but it did seem like they ended up picking the only manager that was readily available and up for taking on the job.
He’s overseen a crucial win over Southampton, a decent draw against Brighton and a loss to Chelsea so far. Not too shabby but they remain in the bottom three.
They’re away at Arsenal after the international break so will be desperate for a result tomorrow, but there are some favourable fixtures to come in April. I’d rate them at exactly 50/50 to survive.
Midfielder Tyler Adams has been ruled out for a few weeks with a thigh injury and he’ll be a miss for them.
Wolves
One of the big plusses for me in the Newcastle game was Pedro Neto looking sharp in his 45 minutes. That was a big improvement from the rusty performance we saw against Spurs.
Hwang is back too and Lopetegui has consistently used him when available so it wouldn’t surprise me if he started tomorrow, particularly after scoring on his return.
I don’t know how long Pablo Sarabia is out, but there are still plenty of other configurations for the head coach to ponder in attack with Traore, Podence and Cunha also part of the conversation.
The midfield is another conundrum with Matheus Nunes dropped at St. James’ Park. Do we put him back in and hope for the performance we’ve expected all season or go with someone steadier? I don’t know the answer.
It’s good to have this squad and keep the opposition guessing. I’d prefer a settled team playing consistently well, but this is better than losing with a threadbare group.
Predictions
Well done to Steppenwolfe, BigNachos, AussieWolf, Matt Cook and wishfart who all correctly predicted the score against Newcastle.
Rich remains four-points clear at the top of the overall table at the end of Gameweek 27.
As always, if you’d like to join in with the Prediction League this season, it’s simple – just leave your prediction in the comment section below using the boxes provided. Then repeat for every preview article throughout the season, making sure you always use the same email address to make your prediction. Your email is what ties you to your overall score.
You can read my prediction for the game in the comment section below.
Up The Wolves!
The negative part of my brain badly wants to predict a defeat because it seems like we’re destined to suffer right to the end.
I just hope we can take the opportunity afforded us in the next two games to lay down a marker and distance ourselves from the bottom three.
4 or 6 points would be brilliant. 3 would be OK. 2 wouldn’t be great but would at least mean neither of those rivals gained on us. Anything less is a disaster.
I’ll push all the negatively aside and back us to get those valuable points tomorrow. Raul to break his duck.
Great minds think alike
Like the look of proposed squad
Hopefully out of the starting blocks early and get on scoresheet 1st half
Remember..we all hate Leeds…( well 8 do anyway)
I’ll go with this forecast
Going into the International break with another 3 points under our belt would be a confidence builder for both players and fans alike.
And there really isn’t any reason why we should not put on a decent display at the same time.
It’s about time Nunes proved himself to be worthy of the hefty outlay by us.
Now the recognised strikers have returned to putting the ball in the back of the net, onward and upwards
We had the chance to put some breathing space between us and the relegation pack by beating Bournemouth and we didn’t take it. With being the last game on Sunday at Newcastle, we had a similar chance and didn’t take it. Here’s our third chance against Leeds – a win for either team will create a massive shift in confidence. This is a real moment of truth for the rest of our season, just as it turned out to be last season. COYW seize the moment.
I really appreciate your comments Sutton and using find them most inline with my own but I struggle to accept that we we lost because of a lack of desire or effort.
F**ing predictive. I’m sure you’ll work out the gist.
I agree Prawny, I don’t think there has been a lack of effort by the team. There has been a lack of intensity in periods. I think the start to the Spurs game being a case in point. Particularly, at home, I think we are at our best where we go at the opposition from the outset, Liverpool being a prime example. It was interesting to see JL this week saying the fans have a crucial part to play in getting behind the players which is true. However, I agree with the McCarthy and Jackett view that the fans feed off the approach of the players at the start of games and not the other way around.
This is a MUST win game to keep our heads above water.
I don’t want to see any faffing around Sa with the ball… the only way we can get goals is up the other end, so let’s do it!
My predictions are rubbish this season because I keep going for wins and today is no different.
Neto is my man!!
COYW
You’ve got to feel that both sides will be desperate to win this one. Could be a much better game than others (not on this site) are predicting. If Leeds do come looking to play then it might play nicely into our hands.
Both sides are struggling to score though so I’m not going to go crazy with my prediction, but home advantage should hopefully see us win this one.
Both teams desperate for a result, but where are the goals coming from? Leeds will be pinning their hopes on Bamford. In theory, we have the quality to keep him fairly quiet. As to us, the most likely goal at the moment is probably from a Dawson header, or maybe from Hwang / Neves.
Before I comment on this match, might I just give Gianni Infantino my warmest congratulations on being re-elected, unopposed as FIFA Chief.
This man has shown the way to bring World football back from the depths of depravity and money laundering to the bright sunlit uplands of truth, openness, honesty and all that is good for the game we love.
How can we forget some of his inspiring words like when in Qatar:- “Today I feel gay”, or in his acceptance speech for re-election when he likened his not giving up to that of the Rwandan people recovered from their 1994 genocide of over 800,000 people.
Having many influential friends. African dictators and War criminals included, he has cuddled up to and shaken some of the bloodiest hands in history.
This man is going to lead World Football for another 4 years.
That will include two World Cups if he has his way… and he almost certainly will.
Heaven help us all!
What a complete C**T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
VAR 1
WWFC 0
Can’t lose this one can we?
I am absolutely gutted that, due to family commitments, I will miss what could be one of the most pivotal games of our season.
It will almost certainly mean that we will put in a blistering performance and win by two goals. We simply have to get three points.
If we do, I think we will have enough to pull away from the relegation zone.
If we lose, then I will be asking the PMDG’er to iron my brown trousers.
I would do it but last time I did, someone phoned me up and I burnt my ear.
Unless there really is a VAR conspiracy against Wolves, sooner or later we must get a VAR decision in our favor! And the law of probability indicates that it should happen soon. I am an external optimist!
While this game is very winnable, there are no guarantees in getting a result. We have to play well, and everyone has to turn up from the first minute and for 90 minutes, not just 45. Leeds will come and fight as they too will believe this game is winnable.
Pedro Nero looks really good and should be a massive plus. He is like a new signing. Still hopeful that Raul will come good even though against Newcastle he was starved of service and support.
Home crowd backing will be crucial.
Cautiously optimistic for this one.
You must have seen something in Neto’s return that I haven’t. Poor earlier in the season and equally so against Spurs, hence his withdrawal at half time. More promise at Tyneside yes but he’s got a long, long way to go and I can’t see him having too much of a positive influence this season.
The next two games are huge for us and will probably determine how comfortable our end to the season is. This will be a tough game (as we know from our tangles with Gracia’s Watford) but I think we’ll edge it.
I disagree with this being a must win although I do think we will take the points.
There are enough games for anything to happen. The one thing you can guarantee is we’ll lose some which we shouldn’t and win the odd one where we will be given no chance. We still look more threatening against the better teams that come on to us rather than the 11 behind the ball sides.
Surely it’s too soon for Neto to start. He’ll have a lot more impact against a tiring back line than as a starter. Raul is getting so closer to a goal by the week and there are shadows of the player he used to be so there’s cause for optimism there too.
I love that we have options now and it can only be to our advantage. The opposition won’t have a clue what the starting lineup is either.
We need this one and I think we’ll get a win, 2-1. Neto and Traore out wide for me with Raul up front. I would not start with Moutiño but would bring him on as they tire. VAR owes us big time so, hopefully, it won’t defeat us yet again…
After watching Leeds a few times I just think they want it more than us, hopefully the real wolves team turns up, think there to high energy for moutinho to start
Hopefully my prediction is crap as usual
I certainly wouldn’t have Nunes in the starting line up against Leeds. I wouldn’t say this game is a must win so much as a must not lose. For the rest of the season that goes for any game against teams below us. Three points for Leeds will put us back in the mire. We need to start positively and aggressively (thus no Nunes), move the ball quickly and don’t give it away cheaply (thus no Nunes), play in the opponents half and try to get a goal in the first half. We have lost far too many games by the odd goal over the last couple of seasons. Team selection, I’d prefer Ait Nouri at right wing back and give Cunha or Adama a start playing more centrally along side Raul, with Pedro Neto. But whoever is up front make sure they are given the ball in good positions and are given them the service they need.
Ait Nouri right wing back? He can hardly kick with his right foot. One footed forwards can get away with it on the ‘wrong’ side but not defenders. Jonny is better on the left but he can kick with his left foot.
By which I mean Ait Nouri at left wing back of course! But still think we’ll win 2-1!
Glad you’ve seen the light.
Feeling confident we can pick up all three points here and get a few goals in the process.
I reckon Kalajdzic will make a surprise return from injury and score a hatrick! Or it will be a draw. Can’t be sure which one it will be…
Well fingers crossed along with everything else for a win the teams below us have hard games and a good result will move us further clean 2-o to the Wolves.
He has to play two up front otherwise it will be another loss or draw.
Raul has got his match fitness back but playing him up front on his own is literally pointless no pun intended.
Against Spurs time and time again he had to come back into midfield to get a touch the goal Adama scored was the result of Raul crying out for the ball on the edge of the box.
Again I reiterate Adama is best coming on at half time or a little bit later.
For me Nunes is not a starter I think he has had his head turned by talk of Liverpool coming in for him and if I’m honest I don’t think he wanted to come in the first place his body language and lack of desire say it all.
This really is a six pointer I fear if we lose this heads will drop and the damage will be irreversible.
Says it all really:-
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-11870095/Pedro-Goncalves-scores-HALFWAY-LINE-brilliantly-LOBS-goalkeeper-Aaron-Ramsdale.html
I fear a frustrating afternoon along the lines of the Bournemouth defeat unless we score an early goal and force Leeds to come out. They will be aware of our poor goals record too and will fancy keeping it tight and snatching a winner late on.
No Hwang so Cunha to start but playing closer to Raul, Nunes is due a good performance but a good bench to change things round. Not a ‘must win’ game but certainly ‘not lose’. Huge boost if we get the points as our rivals have tough looking games on paper.
Got to win this (and the next) and give ourselves breathing space.
We all still hate Leeds so let’s give them a good thumping and put them deeper in the relegation mire.
Let’s eek out 3 points and move on.
For god’s sake can we stop faffing around at the back? At the Newcastle game I was having kittens watching multiple passes between the keeper and defenders, and defender to defender, in and around the penalty area. What’s the bloody point in putting ourselves under enormous pressure as those passes are so often misplaced. I’d sooner a huge hoof upfield to give us a 50/50 chance of a Wolves player intercepting it near the opposing penalty area. Call me old-fashioned.
I’m backing us for a tight win over Leeds. 2-1.
Reminded me of seeing Swansea at the Den a while back (my OH is a Millwall fan and we live nearby) . They had a lot of possession but it was boring and went nowhere. Anywho they got promoted that season. They played ‘Wall in the week and watching on TV suggests they haven’t changed much. They lost. So let’s not go there. Positive, fast passing please.
Dances, never a truer word was said.
Take , for example, Semedo. He looks the part.Balanced and no slouch.
However, as soon as he gets anywhere near the final third , he stops, checks, passes back and we end up in the Asda carpark. That’s Asda Price.
Presumably he is under orders to do that or simply lacks the confidence to make for the line.
As for Nunes, much has been written on this site. James Fisher and Cheslyn Hay,
I certainly agree with you both.
All the talk about Liverpool is unsettling. I think it is a Klopp strategy to wait to see how Iberian players settle in the Premier, and then move in for them at a reduced price. In the meantime Mendes is reported to be offering our players, like Neves, up for sale.
So, I would like to see a good, energetic honest player in midfield who will give his all. That for me is Hodge. He will be a thorn in Leeds side for 90 minutes.
Finally, I am surprised that Johnny has been selected above. He certainly does not deserve a spot following his last outing. Having said that, Ait Nourri does not fill me with confidence. He frequently runs into trouble and loses possession.
I have loved watching Johnny over recent seasons but sadly,the pace has gone.Harrison will have an easy time in my view.
Tomorrow is no place for the faint hearted. It could be brutal, and our players
must be in their faces at all times. Tomorrow, they must all stand up and be counted. There can be no excuses.
Hwang injured – shock horror
Let’s hope we can get our escape from a relegation scrap back on track.
A fast positive start please. An early goal, or three.
And yes, anyone who remembers the 60s and 70s hates Leeds.
I’m really hoping that we can play for 90 minutes; that one of strikers scores; that we don’t faff about at the back. I don’t believe this is a must win game but it is a must not lose.
I agree that this is a “must not lose” match mate but I think that we’ll find it hard to score the goals necessary to win and I’m also wary of our defence keeping the Leeds attack at bay for 90 minutes. They’ve scored significantly more goals than we have this season.
I’ll go for a share of the spoils I think.
We’re really due something against Leeds. Can’t stand them tbh! At home. Point to prove after Newcastle!
I’m gonna be massively optimistic! Jimenez, Cunha and Dawson to score!
I could see a draw as well
Just been reading the referee panel has ruled that the Ref made an error in not awarding Wolves a penalty at Newcastle last Sunday. BUT VAR was correct not to intervene because there was no clear or obvious error. Logic there somewhere???? This one is up there with the ‘3rd player running towards the referee’ red card at Southampton for Lemina. Never seen before or since. And of course there being no TV camera available at Anfield. I won’t mention the boot flying off non penalty at Forest deemed ‘ not enough contact’ . But I understand Stockley Park has some more rulings lined up for Wolves next set of injustices. Like the ‘Unortunatley the referee was unsighted due to DR WHO’S TARDIS LANDING ON THE EDGE OF THE 18 YARD BOX ‘ Which subsequently led to “A DALEK CALLED KEVIN MOVING IN AN ERRATIC MANNER ACROSS THE PITCH and thus causing TV cameras to fail and rendering VAR unable to see “. If that ruling doesn’t apply then they may try to see if this one fits ” Unfortunately the penalty could not be awarded because SATURDAY MORNING KITCHEN inadvertently left some barbecue equipment near the penalty spot. This made VAR HUNGRY AND HE HAD TO POP TO KFC SO MISSED THE INCIDENT” Or a final back up of “Although the referee made an error in not awarding the goal it was unfortunate that a large piece of metal FROM APOLLO 11 MOON LANDINGS which had lodged on an asteroid came lose and landed on top of Stockley Park thus startling VAR and he was thus unable to make a proper judgement”. Of course none of this will matter tomorrow as WWFC smash 3 past Dirty Leeds. Without VAR needing to get involved. After the game J Lo said ” For sure I was worried about the potential APOLLO 11 DEBRI RULE and I thought we may suffer. But I will be buying the lads a slap up meal tomorrow “. WWFC 3 DL 1
Well Cheesey that so made me smile …
On the VAR point .., it must be complete bollox that VAR didn’t see a need to overturn the original decision… utter tosh ..
I don’t disbelieve you about the PGMOL admitting an error , although I confess to being surprised.. what worries me more is that VAR chose not to advise the ref to refer to the pitch side monitor…
This will come back to haunt us ..
Sound mate. There is a twitter post on Molineux Mix from a journalist about the Ref VAR at Newcastle. Not sure how credible it is. But i am not averse to getting fans blood boiling on here and taking it out at the Golden Temple
Cheesy, the problem with journalism is anyone with GCSE English can identify as such.
Their opinions generally are no more valid than yours or mine.
Lovely one Cheesy.
But I think that Julen only buys the nosh if we keep a clean sheet, so I should change your prediction to 3-0.
WWFC 3 DL 0
One must remember not only are they dirty smegheads but corrupt
Ie trying to bribe Bernard Shaw in the 70s done them 1-0 I’m my memory is correct costing them the title
Well I think Wolves will score and then score another goal and then another one . Then I think Leeds will score a goal . Theni think there will be another goal scored by Wolves and then a very last goal also scored by Wolves.
We will all be very pleased
I hate Leeds and we should beat them, but I worry the current injuries leave the squad a little unbalanced and Neto is probably not ready for 90 mins. Leeds are tenacious and unless we’re on it from the start and in their faces, I fear the outcome. Reckon there will be some big performances and results to come from Wolves, but not sure this will be one of them. Hope I am hopelessly wrong.
First game since early Feb and looking fwd to the warmth of the custard bowl .
It’s a must not lose game , which I can’t see happening, so a win will be the icing on the cake .. and a huge step to safety…. Leeds will be no pushover though although I always think we have the measure of them.. we should have a strong enough squad to secure 3 points provided they all give everything on the pitch .. Nunes are you listening …
Jiminez and Dawson with the goals … PL safety here we come ..
A banana skin waiting. These guys never give up. I remember last season. We’ll have to be up or this one. But …
Half time at. City ground and thank goodness for Isak
Need to
Go down to beach so
Hoping Geordie’s cream forest in second half
Meantime … last season this game was nightmare collapse after lost of Jimenez
Don’t care how it happens tomorrow
But win
Please lads
Leeds are no Bournemouth, so will attempt to play some football while whizzing about like bluebottles on amphetamine.
No better time for Moutinho to apply some mature control in the middle of the park and get them dizzy playing Traore down the right.
Once we have them under the glass and a couple of goals down, we can spend the rest of the afternoon dismantling them and otherwise pulling the wings off their Premier League aspirations. Happy Days.
1 lv & COYW
I’m lead to believe that Gracia has been trying to encourage a more reserved style from his Leeds team and the match at Brighton was the first that he succeeded in putting on the brakes. Post Bielsa and Marsh, it’s proved difficult to instill a measure of pragmatism into Leeds’s game. Brighton, so I’m told, they finally got it and a creditable point was the result.
What I’m saying is, don’t be surprised if you don’t see the Leeds many seem to be expecting. It could well be that while the scores remain level, defence will be their No1 priority and we know how much we like a packed defence.
However, we’ve done well at home of late and I expect more success in this.
I am tempted to believe that we will be given a soft VAR decision in our favour so that they can all say “it all balances out, so don’t whinge”.
But then I remember that we don’t even get a sympathy gift.
Goals at a premium.
A year ago we played this fixture and for me this was when things started to turn for Lage how we imploded was shocking and we never really shook it off. So wouldn’t it be fitting if a victory now goes a long way to keeping us up and looking forward to a more brighter future. However the search for consistency in front of goal goes on. Therefore I wound love to see Cunha and Raul in the same team and probably Neto and Sarabia in the wide positions
Wolves back in 1972 stopped Dirty Leeds doing the double what a great day it was.
Same again please.
I remember that game! Believe it was a mid-week game. Listened to it on the BBC radio! It was great!
Just hope Wolves passing is better than it has been and that we can get a player to support Raul in the box more often
.
Hope no faffing about at the back as we do it so badly most of the time as we are so slow and predictable. May as well lose the ball further up the pitch. When we play it quickly we look good.
Keep hoping we can go on a winning run. It would be nice if today was the start ….
Wish the Nunes we bought would play rather than the imposter we have seen so far.
We really need to beat teams below us in the table. Leeds are below us. Ergo, a win it must be Q.E.D.
The tinkerman is still experimenting with this squad so I’ve no idea how we’ll line up. I think we’ve got a better squad than Leeds and with home advantage I’m expecting 3 points. Come on Wolves!
The Forest loss last night was a nice bonus but Wolves need to do the business. That said, I’m feeling good about this one.
Will be watching this with my Leeds-supporting wife. Tensions will be high. Thank you all for the great blog—it’s helped this American understand a lot of the context surrounding the team. This will be my second season devoted to Wolves.
Welcome to the pack, WashDC.
Busy with the racing this week so no considered thoughts.
Huge game. I just hope we don’t wilt under the pressure. One thing that gives me hope is Leeds should have a go, at least more so than Bournemouth did, so hopefully that will leave us gaps to exploit. Expecting a good game, and a nervy one.
Off to South Korea then ! So much for the much lauded Environmental, Sustainabilty , One Pack, One Planet rhetoric.
Do not please infer that I do or do not support such a policy .
But voluntarily, solely for marketing reasons, flying halfway around the Globe to play a few games of football for a club which claims to aiming at zero carbon ratings, well, you have to wonder about their integrity.
Under Lopetegui, we are playing at about a 1.5 point per game clip. That is what we were getting when we were having our best seasons under Nuno.
To think the teams below us will all start playing like they are going to challenge for Europe is unrealistic.
If we continue to play as we have been, there is no reason to worry.
I will say it now. There IS an agenda against Wolves. Yet another shit show from the officials. Denied another penalty on Semedo VAR. Two footed challenge from Leeds player. Yellow. Jonny. Red. Farcical 4th goal foul on Adama. You can say all you want about everything else but you expect cobsistency from refs VAR. At the moment all we get is screwed over. Week after week. Corrupt wankers.
Can’t say that I disagree cheeseboard