It was good to hear Julen Lopetegui talking about the hard work required over the summer.
Outgoings are inevitable but I am concerned that the favourable points return since the manager’s arrival might translate to minimal recruitment.
The 1.5 points per game average we’ve achieved in the Lopetegui era would place us comfortably in the top half if extrapolated over a full season, but I think we all know that pleasing statistic masks what has been a long hard slog to safety.
None of our victories, with the possible exception of Liverpool, have been achieved with comfort and in between the good results we’ve seen some awful performances.
It needs to be foot to the floor again between now and August so the squad is battle ready from minute one next time.
Man Utd
We’ve taken care of our business and can enjoy this one, but Utd have come unstuck lately and Liverpool’s resurgence means they badly need to pocket a result.
Fortunately for them, three of their remaining games are at Old Trafford, which has reclaimed fortress status under Erik ten Hag. They’ve dominated there in all competitions and won 12 of 16 in the league, with just that single loss to Brighton right at the start blotching their record.
It’s their away form dragging them back with two defeats to Brighton and West Ham coming after they surrendered a two-goal lead to Tottenham. Winning just one of those games would have made a top-four finish close to inevitable.
Injuries and suspensions have at times pinched a thin-looking squad and it’s likely some of their better players are feeling the strain coming down the home stretch.
The goals aren’t flowing quite as freely for Marcus Rashford these days but the 29 he’s got in all competitions still makes for an exceptional season.
He came off the bench to win the reverse fixture at Molineux earlier in the season with a goal that showcased his capabilities but was way too soft from a Wolves perspective.
Wolves
Will Julen stick with the team that’s delivered the goods or use these final games to give others a chance?
We certainly don’t want a repeat of the Brighton game so best to start with the tried and tested and go from there. The lop-sided 442 has worked nicely at home and given us good defensive shape but hasn’t yet translated to success on our travels.
Cunha was sacrificed at Brighton to get another body in the midfield, which has a certain logic, but that failed experiment must come into the manager’s thinking.
It’s certainly no coincidence that the players he’s marginalised lately – Ait-Nouri, Raul, Sarabia, Podence, and Jonny are all those that haven’t looked physically up to the challenge. Any or all of those players could leave in the summer.
The above XI plus Bueno, Collins, Gomes, Adama and Hwang seem to be the squad he’s relying on to see us home. I’m not sure what’s happened to Boubacar Traore? He was reportedly back in training a month ago and Lopetegui said he’d be a useful player, which he should be in this system.
Predictions
Well done to Pauluswolf, vicsmith, Matt Cook and Sea Pigeon who all correctly predicted the winning scoreline against Villa.
Rich still holds a 4-point lead at the top of the overall table at the end of Gameweek 35.
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.
Based on Utd’s home record and our away form there’s only one logical outcome.
But there’s pressure on them to get the result so if we can show some resilience in the early stages, cracks could appear.
It’s quite nice that after such a stressful season we sign off with nothing to play for other than the opportunity to scupper the hopes and aspirations of three other teams. Hopefully we can make at least one of them suffer.
Hope we’re wrong but they’re desperate to get into Europe
Despite all the good work JL and the staff have done, our away form remains very poor. Now we are safe, this is a perfect opportunity to try out any new approaches he might consider deploying for next season. I agree with your assertion Thomas that any belief that we can get away with minimal recruitment in the summer would be disastrous. I think the real issue should be how much change can we achieve without going so far so that it is difficult to bed it all down quickly for next season. There is indeed still much work for JL to do.
While we’ve been good at home we appear to have close to no chance in this one. Our away form has been simply dreadful and must be addressed if we really are to have a good season next year. One of the hallmarks of the Nuno era was we were hard to beat anywhere. That’s no longer the case.
I guess the pressure’s off so let’s see what happens but I can only see one outcome.
We’re safe now, and with nothing of note to play for this season, it could go one of two ways. The boys can play with freedom and really show everyone what they can do, or play with the beach in the back of their minds and flip flops on their feet.
Do people still call them “flip flops”, or am I showing my age?
For Man U on the other hand – at home and under pressure to retain a top four finish. They are not always as good as the sum of their parts, but you would expect them to come out fighting and they have the players so hurt you.
I trust J-Lo to be able to convince the players to keep the foam footwear locked away for a few more weeks, so I hope we can do some damage here. I’m going to back us to nick something
Flip flops for me, Woky.
But then, when did a Flannel become a Face Towel? 1 lv.
Like you, I’m a little concerned about whether our owners’ ambitions will align with that of the manager, and Lopetegui’s most recent press conference has done little to abate that fear. I do fear that he’s the sort of manager who would walk without proper backing, though I do suspect we’ll generate a fair amount of cash via player sales/departures in the summer. If we back the gaffer, then I’m optimistic for next season.
This one is a bit of a free hit now that safety is concerned and, with United needing the points more than we do, I’m expecting little from it.
My concern coming the summer is the aspect of players already brought in being good enough for the job.
For example, we NEED a striker – But his most recent interview is saying “cuhna can run the line alone”
So is he going to reinforce places he has already spent 40+ million on? I am not sure.
We have 3 midfielders that have come in, so he is prepared for neves to leave, again wont spend there.
We signed wingers also, along with defenders. So what positions does HE consider needing for?
Goal keeper and a right back, Maybe.
But other then that, I am unsure of what direction he will go.
Due to our roller coaster of a season I expect to lose this game, but hope to be wrong of course.
2-1 to Man U, I think.
COYW!
This is going to be painful
Wolves aren’t just safe. We are safe safe.
I don’t always buy the “nothing to play for” tag line, but for us at Old Trafford that is partly true.
On the other hand, United are in a 3 way battle for Champions League football, with Newcastle and Liverpool. They have 4 games remaining. Bournemouth, Fulham and Chelsea.
They have lost their last two and you can bet Ten Hag has them fired up to make amends. Anything other than a win will be considered as points lost for them.
With safety guaranteed, JL may opt to experiment but I’m pretty sure the wounds from our last chastening experience away from home will still be sore and he will do anything to avoid another capitulation. So how we will shape up is anyone’s guess.
I don’t expect us to win this one. I think a draw would be a very good point against a top 4 team away from home and a win would be both unexpected and welcome, but head over heart, I think this will be a narrow loss.
UTW
If there is one game I would love to win, it is this one. Not only it would have the worldwide, big six, Man U fans extremely worried about qualifying for the CL next season, but mostly because my brother, who lives in Antigua, is attending the game with his son and a bunch of other friends from Antigua! They spent a fortune for this once in a lifetime opportunity, but at 70 years of age he figured it was now or never!
And of all the teams in the PL, they are playing Wolves! Whatsapp contact this week has been red hot and going nuclear!
This game will be difficult as our away from is awful, and their home from has been good. Are our players on the beach or not, will being safe affect our performance positively or negatively, will JL experiment with tactics, or give fringe players a chance, who knows? Will the will to fight be there or not? Will we get lucky or not? Will VAR screw us one more time or not! So many questions! We shall see!
We should play 4-4-2 and play our strongest team. This game is not the one to experiment, against a very hungry Man U! And I need to maximize my chances for bragging rights! I’m this case, a draw or a win, is a win!
I just want the right to brag!!!
Up the Wolves!
If for no other reason than for your brother St Kitts I hope it’s a cracking match.
I’ll be there too. Driving up as the mean minded unions have decided this is a good weekend to disrupt the trains.
i feel sorry for your brother who’s going to travel all that way to see his team lose !
Would love to see Moutinho put in an appearance here and get the equaliser
I’d like a lot of things…….but this would be a start
Given the time and persuasion it’s taken to get JL to Molineux I can’t imagine he hasn’t got some assurances in place for squad development. If the board fail to deliver I’ve no doubt he would walk. He’d have no shortage of suitors.
If he has any inkling of who’s likely to be around next season and who’s going to be on their way, I’d be suggesting he built the team around that core, especially for the away games. Home games you would hope he’d be starting his current best eleven with a few substitutions for emotional fairwells.
A tough game given our away form (for the life of me I’ve never understood the chasm between how differently a team can perform at home Vs away)
For me it’s more about the performance than the result.
Agree absolutely with your first paragraph Prawny.
MU are stuttering at the moment good chance for Wolves to get a win.
“We’re safe, so let’s go at them with all guns blazing. Show them what we can do when the pressure’s off!”
Or
“We’re safe, let’s put on our flip-flops (or Birkenstocks as us trendy with-it dudes wear, Wokywolf) and get on the beach.”
To turn up or not to turn up.
That is the question.
I’m going with the former.
All comments above are valid and one of the associated scores is probably how it is going to pan out.
Just for devilment I’m going for a rose tinted 3 points for us.
Is Eric Ten Hag actually Dominic Littlewood off Cowboy Builders? Some people may think that question is a bit weird. But it is one that deserves attention. The similarities are there.Well. They both have a bald head. That said I am not sure if Eric Ten Hag goes around the streets looking at houses with a lop sided driveway or a roof with a massive hole in it after a bit of rain and then pursues some bloke in a transit van with ‘ Dave’s Elite Building Services’ written on it down the M4 to Chelmsford or somewhere. And then when Dave gets out of the van, approach with a microphone and say “Did you realise the shoddy work you did for Mrs Williams in Chingford has resulted in her roof caving in ? And you charged her £10999 for it ? What have you got to say Dave ?” At which point Dave puts a plastic bag over his head and legs it over the nearby park. Whether Eric Ten Hag would be up for that sort of thing is debateable. Similarly would Dom Littlewood be able to take Manchester United to a Champions League game in Budapest ? So although the comparison is there in that they both have a bald head – that’s about it really. So on to the Theatre of Dreams. J Lo has worked wonders in securing safety . He has done the job only 2 other teams have managed- safety from bottom of the table at Xmas. Most of his 9 wins have come at Fortress Molineux. But he has actually taken 9 points from his 10 away games which is not brilliant but not exceptionally rubbish either. So congratulations to him, I don’t think he would have taken the job if he hadn’t got assurances from Fosun -so I am expecting backing in that respect. My old friend PPG says we will finish on 43 to 44 points so in that respect I expect a draw tomorrow and a victory over Everton. Who had the worst away record in the division until the smashed Brighton 5-1 . Funny old game. So man Utd 1 WWFC 1. After the game J Lo said ” We came here not to suffer . we suffered a lot at brighton. I didn’t want to suffer again. Suffering is bad. ” ETH said ” We just have to crack on. And if anyone asks I am not Dominic Littlewood. In fact who is. Apart from Dominic Littlewood? “
Don’t get too carried away Cheesey.. I’ve just looked up Saturdays referee ..
It just happens to be John Brooks .. he who reffed our home game against Leeds.. (I think) ..
he had a complete howler , got hounded by 30k plus fans .. lost control completely and missed the shirt tugging on Traore despite studying the VAR monitor for 20 minutes… so with 70k hollering at him .. he’ll crumble like an apple tart.
We must not be complacent as it is unfair to the other teams striving for a C.L place.
Wouldn’t it be nice to see Mouthino come on with 5 mins to go ..(plus 20 Fergie minutes) and score the winner..
We generally do well at Old Trafford and given that their victory at Molineux was fortunate and the scores in the last few minutes .. a bit of karma would do nicely…
You couldn’t make one good referee between the lot of them mate. The only one I think is any good this season is Paul Tierney – and even he failed to give us an obvious penalty v Brentford when their goalie took our bloke out.
Dave from Elite?
Don’t get me started Cheese.
The cladding he put on my gable end half blew off in the first wind. Had to listen to it flapping around all winter. Utter B*****d.
Where’s Big Dom when needed?
Tracked Davey Boy down to a caravan site near Ashford, felt sorry for him and left.
Sorry to hear that Rasta mate. You need to get Dom on the case straight away chap !!
There are rumors that Fosun are going to continue spending to push the team up the table but I think it is just as likely that they were just reinforcing the team for the last half of the season to ensure they remain in the top division.
I can see them letting Julen keep his top choices that want to stay and trying to recoup some or most of last window’s spending with sales of the others.
I wouldn’t worry too much about the style of wins because he may have just been playing it safe.
What happened to the people on here who used to say they would take 17th at the beginning of previous seasons? Now they are complaining about taking so long to guarantee survival.
There are £millions to play for.
Flip flops aren’t they now sliders ?
Beach or will talk of contracts/selling keep standards up ?
Utd have had a week to recover and will be keen to get the CL points
So …….
Hopefully Wolves will play more freely, and ManU will bottle it…
With safety ensured, have to think JL gives some time to players who haven’t seen much of the pitch in a while.
.
In seasons past we have bemoaned the lack of spending and our small squad. Well, we’ve spent oodles of money since last summer and have more players than we know what to do with! Go figure. So it’s not just all about money and large squads after all. Lopetegui has come in and successfully steered us away from relegation, but it’s been a slog. I wonder if any team has ever scored so few goals as us and avoided the drop?
Now that we have avoided the drop, I don’t want any beach bums. We have three matches left in which the players are playing for their Wolves future, and not for sun and sea. Three cup finals in fact. For any player who just goes through the motions because we’re safe, my attitude is ‘on your bike’. Assuming we play to our full potential tomorrow there’s no reason why we can’t piss on Manure’s parade.
I’ll see you all next season, in the premier league.
This film of Ryan Giles at Middlesbrough is well worth watching. He seems like a really switched on lad and hopefully first team material next season.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtyMncoCwv4
I feel disloyal to forecast anything but a win for our boys (my lowly position in the Prediction League verifies this) but Man Disunited have a really good home record, so I’m sticking out for a draw this time.
I think we can get something out of this.
Like many others here, not confident of a positive result, I’m afraid.
Man. U at home, in with a chance of playing CL next season.
Wolves on the other hand, safe and can relax.
I won’t be at all surprised if we see a back 5 ang going with one up front. Might not be Raul, we’ll save him for the Mol.
No Rashford bring it on
I hope Julian plays our best team……we don’t want shades of Mick McCarthy when he played a weakened team The whole point of being in the Premier League is so we can test ourselves against the so called big six and also we need to respect the other teams and the League.
What Fosun will do in the summer is anyone’s guess but if they think this was a blip and carry on with the same vien as before ie limited investment then a big spurge when the shit hits the fan then they will end up back in the mire and next time they might not be so lucky Julian might not be around to save there skin.
Wolves will hopefully play with a bit of freedom. Really want us to try and finish as high up the table as possible. Would also love to see Raul play – even if it’s a cameo appearance. My predictions are pretty dire, but I fancy a positive result tomorrow. UTW
I hope Julen plays his strongest team possible and pardon the pun, but release them from the shackles they have been under for so long.
Time to show what they have in they locker.
J-Lo got a shock at Brighton.
Picked it up at home v Vanilla.
We all got a shock when the Toffees put 5 up the ‘Gulls.
Away at the Palace of Delusion? Any manager looks for this one to give him some cred with us, the fans. Who all love to beat the Bigguns. Who may have travelled from Antigua.
Tempted to go for a cheeky Clive on this one. J-Lo channelling his Inner Seville, twirling the matador’s cape in a magical display of butchery. The spring sunshine warming those Iberian shooting boots.
Whatever happens next season it better not result in 10 points at Xmas.
1 lv & COYW
Hopefully we don’t rock up in the flip flops we wore at Brighton for this one now that our survival has been officially confirmed. It’s natural to expect a little drop but our recent success has been built on hard work and desire so if that drops we could be in trouble or could it lead to a care free shackles off performance!!! Who knows but with their home record and our away record I can only see this going one way.
This is a toughie. But our recent form has been really good and now the pressure is off , I hope we can put on a show and get something. I can’t see J Lo making many changes in the starting 11. He wants to finish the season on a high.
Having been tp nearly all the away games this season, i am still hoping for one good win away. Could it be tomorrow? Unlikely but I live in hope.
lost the score!
Pressure’s off, but all the same, can we keep it tight at the back and manage to score twice ourselves?
I’m going to hope for both……
This has the makings of a good game, and I think Wolves will give a good account of themselves, for several reasons. As many have implied, the pressure is off.
Also, we have the tendency to spoil plans for other teams. We have a good record of playing against top clubs.Finally, it is well documented that some of our team are destined to move on. These players will want to shine to attract suitors.
Watch Fernandez at the end of the game. He is on commission to sign up a couple of our team.
Not a Scooby on this one depends on j-Lo’s team selection really but history and var are not usually kind to us here ,we could do them 3-0 like against the scouse gifts or we could quite quite easily do a Brighton think I’ll split the difference
I know the maths don’t add up which was weird because my maths is usually right up there
Think we may just sneak a goal and suffer a late VAR disaster to screw us again.
Can”t see us getting anything there, will be interesting to see if they are all prepared to put a stint in.
We will lose Reuben, Moutinho, Adama, Raul for def all of whom have been stars for us in their prime
Expect 3-0, 3-1 defeat, but can’t predict that scoreline.
.
They can be extremely suspect at the back and, when that happens, they become a team of individuals as opposed to a team. Prime example being Liverpool away.
Trouble is they are at home, the luvvies will want to see them back in the Champions League (and will have agents camping out at Stockley Park ) and we can be suspect at the back too, particularly on the flanks.
All in all, the omens aren’t good for this one so prove me wrong lads.
I’m totally at ease with this fixture. Wolves are safe, so let the footballing gods throw what what they have at us.
That said, there is no room for complacency. Julen should play his strongest side, partly out of respect for the PL but also to banish the memories of the last away match. Hopefully, the so called Theatre of Dreams will inspire our players to get one over the home side.
Safe but still positions to play for. And pride
For sure JLo wouldn’t be at Molineux without reassurances regarding future team investment should we stay up. The relatively comfortable ending to the season will only reinforce the view with the owners that JLo is definitely worth investing in. Fascinating summer ahead.
Interesting game ahead too.I never see us head to Old Trafford with too much trepidation. We always, sometimes, do OK against them and the lack of pressure now we are safe will allow us to play the free flowing football we have become synonymous with.
OK, off with them gold-tinted specs………..
I hope Raul, Adama and Ruben all get an opportunity to show the EPL what they are capable of today
Costa to round off a good season. But the lads to get tripped up by VAR and diving.
Wolves win!
Late prediction. It would be nice to see us get something just to disrupt there hopes of a top 4 finish, but then we’d be doing Liverpool a favour….mmmm tricky one.
Still can’t see us getting anything though with them having so much to play for.
A real baptism of fire for Bentley!!
No Sa
No Rashford
I’m ok with losing the last two away games as long as
1 we play PL football … style and substance
2 we beat toffees
Let’s enjoy now we’re safe???
You think the refereeing and VAR is bad.
Last night, in the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Leafs scored to tie the game.
It took at least five minutes to decide the goal would not count.
There were video images of the puck crossing the line and the whistle had not blown at that time.
The whistle hadn’t blown but apparently, the play is dead when the official imagines it, even if he hasn’t actually blown the whistle. So they can call the play dead a fraction of a second before it goes fully over the line (if there is a scramble in front of the goal) – they just have to say that’s when he imagined the play ended.
And the Leafs were eliminate from the playoffs based on that disallowed goal.
“The referee deemed the play dead prior to the puck crossing the Florida line. The call was made in accordance to Rule 78.5 (xii), which states apparent goals shall be disallowed ‘when the referee deems the play has been stopped, even if he had not physically had the opportunity to stop play by blowing his whistle.’”
Not sure how the video review people know when the referee deemed the play had been stopped if there was no whistle blown.
De Gea sat in a deck chair and flip flops in goal all afternoon with another toothless display in front of goal by us with no shot on goal to disturb him