We can take some positivity into this from the Liverpool game.
The first half was excellent and the only disappointment was the players couldn’t provide sterner resistance to the inevitable onslaught that followed.
Neto is finding some real form, Bellegarde didn’t misplace a pass and I thought João Gomes looked sharper than he has done for a while. All of those things are valid causes for optimism.
But tomorrow is different. Tomorrow is all about the result. I’m not going to say we can’t afford to lose this early in the campaign, but defeat would underline in bold exactly what this season is about.
We know Luton away is going to be markedly different to Liverpool at home and I am concerned about whether this team has enough to combat a more direct and robust approach.
Luton
It’s zero points from four games for Rob Edwards and plenty of people are writing the Hatters off already.
But their next three games are Wolves, Everton and Burnley, so it’s probably wise to hold out on any firm predictions until they can be weighted against those around them in the table.
Brighton and Chelsea both beat them by three but the margins were thinner against West Ham and in particular, Fulham, last weekend. They could easily have won that game.
Everybody knows the drill. They’ll let teams have the ball and sit in their 352 shape, but when they get it, they’re going to be direct and physical. As mentioned above, I don’t think that’s a bad tactic against Wolves.
Whatever they do tomorrow, I think everyone would agree they’re going to be in and around the bottom three. It’s not just quality, it’s a lack of experience at this level that will end up costing them.
Ryan Giles was dropped for their trip to Craven Cottage last week so he may not feature tomorrow. I felt Wolves were wrong to let him go, but time will tell on that one.
Wolves
Last week, the first half proved me wrong about the full backs who were both excellent. But I felt their performances deteriorated as Liverpool took control and Ait-Nouri was at fault for their equaliser, getting sucked towards the ball and leaving Salah free to get his cross-shot away. Fine margins, but that’s the Premier League.
I suspect Gary O’Neil will stick with the same XI but I would personally look to get some more height into the team to cope with the threats that Luton pose. That probably means Toti and Doc coming into the back four.
I’d still like to see Kalajdzic get a start, but who do you drop? Cunha has been excellent save for some horrendous finishing, Neto has been the star man in the last two games and Hwang has three goals from limited minutes. You could play Cunha deeper to get Sasa on the pitch but that would mean dropping Bellegarde and he was outstanding against Liverpool.
There are all sorts of configurations for Gary to consider and we have greater quality than Luton, so he’s got to earn his crust here.
Predictions
Well done to Aquilador, DebenhamWolf, Wokingham Welsh Wolf, Prawny, Wokywolf, Lord Twix, Desert Wolf and Winchcombe Wolf who all correctly predicted the scoreline against Liverpool. Sheffieldwolf remains top of the leaderboard at the end of Gameweek 5.
I’m very concerned about the team’s ability to navigate a challenge like this one, but we have better players than Luton and I’ve seen some good things in our performances, so I am going to predict a victory. I’ll say 2-1 to the old gold with Neto to get on the scoresheet.
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.
Up The Wolves!
I have watched a few game previews today – Luton fans think we are the first points they get…
They keep comparing there games to ours – and think we are on the same level…
If we do not take 3 points from this game, it’s a complete shambles.
They also keep saying “wolves struggle to score”
Maybe, Last season – 100% – we had diego costa running the line…
4 Goals in 5 games is on a trajectory to be a better goal % then last season + the 5 we put away in the cup makes it 9 goals in 6 games…
We should absolutely dominate this game, from the off – It was poor game management against Liverpool – They made the right subs, we didn’t.
This game needs to be put to bed by half time… no excuses.
Saw us lose 3-2 there back in ’74. Shite ground then and still is. Haven’t a clue really as it all depends on us taking chances ( unlikely) and not making defensive howlers ( unlikely). All evidence based. Sitting on the fence, therefore.
No idea what will happen.
Depends on team selection and very much on tactics.
Could go either way.
M O T D tomorrow,wide open game played with no fear.
Dreamings for free. Come on Gary get it right.
I feel this game could go either way. It could be a comfortable win or a complete disaster for either side and neither result would surprise me.
Wolves seem to be moving back into a team of two halves where the performance in one is diametrically opposed to the other. We have jointly the worst defence, and we still have not solved our goalscoring problem. However, there is still a hope with Sasa still to play and Bellecarde showing massive potential in creativity.
Team selection is a headache which is a good thing as it is not because of injuries. Semendo had a brilliant first half, and game in general and there were flashes of the old Docherty when he came on. RAN remains a headache. He is brilliant going forward, but his defending leaves a lot to be desired.
Really looking forward to this game, as we have an excellent chance to win, unlike the last (we thought) and the next one.
Fight hard and show grit and determination and we will win!
If we lose this it will really ramp up the pressure, but win this and it will be like a pressure valve being released.
Sorry, forgot to perdict!
We have to win this one. We have the better players and must exploit such skill.
We have Man City next up and cannot afford to have just 3pts by next w/e.
If we start with Cunha, which is understandable, then GO’N substitutions have to be better – Sasa for Fabio is a no-brainer as anyone in the crowd can see.
I hope our defence can withstand the long ball physicality that Luton is going to lump forwards.
Not feeling the tsunami of negativity that came forth after last weeks match, despite losing (a tad unlucky imo) the positives were in abundance and given where we were at the start of the season I’m happy with a ‘work in progress’ going in the right direction.
Bellergarde and Neto in particular are reasons to be optimistic.
All the vitriol towards Silva is disappointing, we’re 5 games into the season and he had a poor half hour. The same reactionary bollocks hung Hwang out to dry last season.
It’d be nice to see Sasa off the bench at least but i think it’ll be after the Ipswich game before he gets some real Premier minutes.
The knives will be out for GON if we lose this one, i’ll go for a 3 nil stroll in the park as we kick on from last weeks first half showing.
Yep, in a moment of hopeless optimism I’ll join you!
Well the PGMOL have allocated a very very experienced ref tomorrow….
… Josh Smith .. I kid you not ..
Who the hell is he .. no PL refereeing experience.. nothing ..
Beggars belief .. it’ll get out of hand for sure ..
Team wise .. this is a must not lose .. indeed 10 yes ago it became Solbakkens last stand following Cup humiliation… let’s hope tomorrow doesn’t repeat itself ..
The earlier friendly showed just how Luton play .. defend in numbers and then lump it to the giants and bodybuilders up front … we got to be prepared for this so imo Toti should start … presumably replacing Ait-Nouri.
Pretty much the same as the team v the ‘Pool and I’m praying that Cunha gets act together to cause some damage.
It’s not a game for Silva though so I’d expect Sasa to get some game time ..
I think we’ll see it over the line.. just hope we’ve got 11 on the pitch at the end … … Josh who …!!!!
You might well be right but there’s plenty of experienced ref’s who have messed up our games.
That’s the standard nowadays HS… it’s just that newby’s baptisms are generally tried out on us ..
If we play like we did last week we should win but that’s a big if we never play to games the same. Personally I would play Sasa up front instead of Cunha with the form of Neto Sasa old be lacking his lis to get on the end of them crosses. But knowing GON he’ll probably sit his arse on the bench like he did last week how’s he supposed to get match fit if he doesn’t play.
No excuses, it has to be an away win. Hwang , Sasa and Cunha to start!
Has this got 0-0 written all over it? Possibly.
That said, given our position to date, yes, it’s still early in the season, but we really should be picking up all 3 points against Luton.
What l yearn for is an early in the season, 5 games in, and we’re in double points territory. Dream on some will say. We’ll get there some day.
Tomorrow; let’s go for a double – six points on the board.
Sorry, not Cunha, but Neto.
The only thing that I’d be happy to predict is that this will be a terrible football match to watch. Wolves have historically struggled to break teams like Luton down and especially when we have been expected to be on the front foot. Luton are going to win in the premier league at some point and I wouldn’t bet against it being against us. That said that result doesn’t bear thinking about so I’m going for a scrappy horrible wolves win ala everton.
This could well be a struggle, a bit like the Everton game, so I’ll go with the same score.
I think the selection issues are a direct result of our muddled recruitment since promotion (save for that first glorious transfer window), as we now have a squad of talented but similar players that don’t really fit any distinct system. I’ve been encouraged by the recruitment since Hobbs’ promotion though (Dawson, Gomes, Lemina, and Bellegarde all look like great business) and think we’ll improve under this model if we can keep our heads above water this season.
This is a big game and one we’re going to need to win if we’re to dispel the early season nerves that are beginning to settle in after an underwhelming start. I would one hundred per cent be bringing Toti and Sasa into the team, as we know Luton will bombard our box with crosses. Alas, it’s beginning to look as if the latter cannot be trusted to start and/or finish a game, so I suspect he’ll be on the bench again.
I’m nervous but am going to let my heart rule my head and tip us to win.
If he’s fit this is a game made for Sasa with Cunha playing behind him.
It’s no longer a game of 11 players so who starts is almost irrelevant as you can guarantee the team will look very different by 70 minutes.
This is where Jlo was so good and we now have to see if GoN can match up.
We should have too much for them. Our centre halves will be in their comfort zone against bigger less mobile forwards although our fullbacks are a concern and I can see a case for playing both Doc and Toti in those positions.
Can’t however see us losing.
No mention of the keepers terrible distribution then
Providing GON gets his selection right – and that means Sasa starting – we should win this relegation 6 pointer !
It won’t be pretty but we should be too good for them if we repeat the first half Liverpool performance.
Absolutely agree with Cannock
Sasa has to start . Potential banana skin …we all know that
The spirit shown at Everton is needed so I’m going for the same scoreline
Is it time to try Bentley in goal for this one? (hides under the table).
We’re going to win this one… we have to.
Doc and Sasa to start for me and get two in the net before half time.
COYW
Would like to see Sasa start in place of Hwang and Toti in defense.
Luton gave Fulham a game on most of the pitch last time out but their finishing was woeful. The Premier League demands clinicality as we know only too well.
Meanwhile, although we have been bagging at least one in the last few matches, Cunha’s missed sitter against Liverpool shows that we haven’t fully overcome our own problems in that department either.
The good news, is that we know what we are going to get from Luton. GON will surely beef up the back line to limit their physical threat, and then we can concentrate on trying to turn possession into goals.
Luton seeing this a as chance for their first points may play into our hands, especially as it comes at Kenilworth Road. They may feel like they need to force the issue a bit more and not sit back so much, making them easier to break down.
Looks like a low scoring affair to me though, and neither side will want to contemplate losing, so edging me towards a draw.
Put Sasa up top and let neto ping the ball off him
be a tight one this , ill go for a draw
I hope we get a result if for no other reason than building a bit of confidence and creating a bit of stability. Even though he is only a few games in , lose tomorrow and inevitably questions will start to be asked of GON- it’s the nature of the beast I’m afraid. A win will offer players some more belief in his decisions and what he is trying to achieve with the team. Defeat and every thing he does will be placed under even greater scrutiny. COYW
I’m hoping for a strong, physical performance so GON needs to select a team that can deliver that for 90+ minutes. He also, imo, needs to make his substitutions sooner; players were clearly flagging after that great 1st half against Liverpool.
.
Grind out a win, we need a win.
I just hope we put some strength into the team for this game; Toti and Doc to start and Sasa to come on with half an hour left. I don’t know if the new centre back is any good at this level or even match fit, but hopefully GON must be well aware…
We ought to have more points but our defensive frailties are letting us down badly and now this is a key area to get right. How we can predict with our current form is difficult; we can play well and attractively against supposed big teams but how confident can we be in our ability to fight late on in games. It’s so annoying, one minute really enjoying great play and then falling to sucker punches. Ecstasy then total annoyance in most matches. I don’t feel any confidence in this match as I know Luton will soak and soak up our attacks in their practiced way, so unless we can build up a decent lead I can see more of the same old…
However I’m going to hope our attacking class at last pays dividends and gives us a required win at last, 3-1. I jus cannot go against us with a team which, despite their brave attitude, will probably go back down. But Gary’s got to play some strong experienced pros against these guys.
I’m looking forward to supporting the boys with our great away followers at Ipswich just down the road and that could also be a tough game. COYW….
I’ve not got a great feeling about this one. I watched Luton’s home game with West Ham and they weren’t bad. They largely let West Ham have the ball but were threatening themselves and unfortunate not to take a point.
We’ll have to be up for it and I worry we’ll be too soft for the different sort of challenge this presents. Nightmares at Luton would be nothing new; they infamously saw off Stale Solbakken while a non-league side, and a similar horror show could be on the cards tomorrow if we’re not on it.
Luton will win games at Kenilworth Road and this is one they’ll be firmly targeting. Hopefully our quality shines through. A win would provide a much-needed boost and push us up towards mid-table to relieve the pressure for a while at least.
The publicity machine to win Wolves fans over regarding Silva has gone into overdrive.
Just watched the Silva interview part one……..and it’s clear to me reading between the line he stayed because he was given assurances he be in the team.
This would explains why Sasha cannot get any game time. I thought this before seeing this interview same goes for Cunha the price tag of both combined is £80 million the chairman cannot have them sitting on the bench despite the fact neither of them can hit a barn door at the minute and Gary O’Neil is not the sought of guy not to do as he is told.
If Sasha doesn’t get any game time against Luton then…..what proof do you need.
The fact is having £80 million pounds worth of let’s face it average talent sitting on the bench is bad for Jeff and Fosun the fact t.hat we have a decent looking striker in Sasha who doesn’t look like scoring and has in the limited game time he has been given is not important to our chairman saving face seems to be more important than the team winning.
If O’Neil doesn’t play the big man then we are in for a long afternoon of watching Silva run round like a headless chicken.
I too would like to see Sasa up front to offer a focal point for some decent crosses. I would even welcome a back 3 with Dawson, Kilman and Toti. Wingbacks can then move forward with more confidence.
Won’t be surprised if this game ends in a draw, but some wishful thinking might be the case for this game.
It’s going to be physical which doesn’t suit us and O’Neil needs to take this into account, but to date his managerial skills don’t seem to be too strong on horses for courses and we really can’t afford to lose this and even a draw will be a disappointment, though I fear that’s what it might be.
There’s little doubt that tomorrow’s opponents are the weakest in the PL so anything less than 3 points will show us where we really are.
For a sad trip down memory lane, here’s the BBC match report from 5th January 2013:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/20863618
With the likes of Kevin Doyle and Jamie O’Hara in our line up, what a shock against non-League Luton. Back in 1992, a friend of mine, David Kohler, was owner or chairman or something, of Luton, then in the top flight. I was in Hong Kong on business in 1992 and I spotted a major article in the South China Morning Post, about Luton Town. David was chuffed when I sent it to him. Luton seemed to be up there amongst the big boys. I wonder if anyone at Fosun remembers the article?
A decade later from that shock loss, it’s time for revenge. Luton will be no pushover as the result at Fulham shows, but 2-0 is on the cards. I wonder if Rob Edwards was in the Wolves team at Luton in 2013?
I went to that game. Solbakken was sacked in the aftermath. Apparently razak boukari is still only a few weeks away from returning to full fitness.
In Bellegarde, Lemina and Cunha we have three players who will not get knocked off the ball by Luton’s big fellers. Add Gomez to that and we’ve got a pretty powerful midfield.
In Fabio, we have a forward who almost certainly will, so give Sasa a chance.
Neto and Hwang can cause problems and Semedo and Doherty can link up well with them.
I’d keep the centre back partnership of Kilman and Dawson together for this game.
The one I’m not sure about is Sa in goal. Shot stopper extraordinaire, but ‘nul points’ for distribution. Give Bentley a run out? He could do with a few miles on the clock.
The more perceptive of you might have picked up that I’ve named 12 players.
Should give us a bit of an edge and maybe if the ref is really inexperienced he might not notice.
We’ve got to win!
We were well up for Liverpool, as we were for Man Utd, and a lack of ruthlessness in front of goal for both of those fixtures cost us.
Will we be “up for Luton”?
I hope so, and if we turn up with the right attitude, knowing every point has to be earned, we could come away with an absolutely vital 3 points. But make no mistake, Luton will definitely be up for this.
The conundrum is who to play. Neto and Bellagarde were out stand out performers v Liverpool. Cunha was very good driving forward but fluffed his lines. Gomes and Lemina are the go to physical
enforcers in midfield. Hwang is our top scorer and we really need Sasa’s height. Semedo had a good game v Liverpool and we have Bueno and Toti to consider in defence.
Doherty should be considered but Ait Nourhi also had a good game last time out.
I’m scratching my head trying to figure out the best formation and starting line up.
Thankfully that’s someone else’s job.
A narrow win for us methinks, and I couldn’t give a stuff how we get it. 6 points on the board and we can be satisfied from our opening fixtures.
UTW
We still look as unlikely to score as we ever did and given that Luton play a 100% defensive, counter-attacking style I think it will be just as difficult tomorrow. Add to that Sa’s occasional lapses and I fear for us to keep a clean sheet. Hence my depressing prediction.
Sorry y’all…….
I have just seen a picture of one of the stands at Luton and you appear to gain entry through someone’s living room. The pundits are predicting a win for Wolves by 1-0 or 2-0. Which can only mean one thing………..Luton 3 WWFC 6. It’s got to click together sooner or later. Tomorrow is the day. I am going for an ugly win by 1 goal. Either 0-1 or 1-2. I think Luton will get a goal so yeah – 2-1 Wolves. With Cunha making up for his lack of composure last week and Hwang chipping in again. Hatters 1 WWFC 2.
Last time I went to Luton was through the terraced houses .. I got offered a club sandwich or burger by the resident ..
Cheeky bastard didn’t have any relish..(gherkin chips).. so it was a no from me …
Kenilworth Rd has to be the sh@@hole of all toilets of a football club .. and it was midweek game ..
please please lads .. let’s put in a performance..
It’s the land of Lorraine Chase and ‘Loo n airport’ what more can be said. A bit like West Ham away 2004 Upton Park when I went to the burger bar by the ground and literally needed a black country/cockney interptreter to complete the transaction. Mind you. I was pissed.
If the Hatters are on it, they will get a head! We must keep our heads after going behind and play the nice stuff that we are well capable of……well, until we get into their box! Our midfield will grind them down and eventually put them back in their (hat) box. By the 90th minute we will be in the lead 1-2, the Hatters will be furious, I mean Mad and with the novice ref losing all control over time, there will be 10 mins added on, enough time for a goal apiece! Stressful!
We don’t have the squad or current form to look forward to a routine win against newly promoted and poorly resourced promotion teams like Luton. No straightforward games in this division and Luton will achieve upsets this year- we can but battle and win our battles and trust that Lady Luck favours us as it did against Everton.
Sorry Rob but a narrow win for us on this occasion.
With the Wolves always struggling to score against a side that sits back and playing a team desperate to take a point any way possible, I fear this will be a 0-0 slog.
To use a quote from a massive movie ‘I’ve got a bad feeling about this’ even when we were flying under Nuno this is just the type of game we lose. We match the first half performance against Liverpool and we should win but equally in a similar game against Everton we were terrible (but won). 1-11 I feel we are a far superior team but no matter how poor a team is they will win at some point.
I saw a lot to be positive about last week so it’s a win from me
Will Luton be a Huddersfield where we give the bottom team 6 points in the season. I hope not. Would love to see a Liverpool/United first half for 90 + minutes.
This one feels big. Going for a shaky 2-1. Think it’ll be up to Dawson to hold the line, while the Portuguese crew snuffle around looking for some magic.
Wife’s a milliner so she wants Luton to win based on them known as the hatters.
We find it hard to break teams down like this and I worry about the goals we’re leaking so far this season. If we can’t pick up three point’s tomorrow especially with the upcoming fixtures we have I think it’s very clear what kind of a season we’re in for.
Going in confident though!
Greetings Gang,
Though results and points haven’t been going our way at home, the troubled away win at Toffeeton should give us hope for this one at the Kennil.
It was a tad unlucky that Cunha managed to fold himself around the ball, like a clam around a pearl, rather than get an angular part of his body, of which there are many, to force the projectile goalward. But hey that’s the modern game for you.
Sa definitely produces more superb saves than grossly incompetent distribution errors, on balance he’s in.
It shouldn’t matter what Gazzbo says at half time, or ineffectual / baffling substitutions he throws in the works, we’ve got enough to keep the dogs at bay.
I’m keeping the good biscuits for Citeh, so its back to the Oaty Savers.
1 lv & COYW.
Both team desperate for a win, not just points. so I hope the gas pedal is down throughout, better to have tried than to park the bus
The mad hatter’s will really be up for this and if they get the first goal I can see us struggling to break them down as we never seem to do well against the bottoms teams, so for me it’s all about who scores that first goal
C,O,Y,W. prove me wrong
This one’s for CFH.
FOWB
God Bless ..
He is missed
Yeah. Always made me laugh when he went on about his mate down the road who owned the chip shop and was also a WBA fan. In Houston Texas the old rivalry in full hostility !
Think a draw is on the cards
.
Could be an interesting game, with Luton’s physicality and Wolves running the ball through Neto, Bellegarde, etc. Would also like to see Doc at some point. Who knows what the Wolves lineup will be, let alone the score. Both teams will be desperate not to lose this one, so going for a draw.
If we dig in like we did last season at Southampton we’ll get the three points.
C-O-Y-W
If we are to avoid being in a relegation scrap again , we have to beat the likes of Luton. Luton will be thinking the same. Undoubtedly we have a much stronger squad but Rob Edwards has done a great job at Luton and they will be fired up for this one. If it was me I would be making some changes to the starting 11 but I suspect GON will stick with the same lineup as last week. We seem to badly run out of steam in the second half of games, so we have to have won this game by half time.
So hard to predict when you don’t know the lineup, but can’t risk waiting because the signal in pub is always useless.
I’m going for what 90% on this blog have predicted.
COMBs!
Well not going to win prediction league so
Gotta win game!
How lovely it would be to play well and win convincingly?
Not confident until we show that we can do so.
coyw.
Vital to win this
Blimey. Am I too late?
Should’ve waited till the sending off.
And top of the Apology League this evening……
Wolverhamton Wanderers..
Yet another useless apology coming our way from Howard Webb and his corrupt band of brothers
Jesus we must be in trouble if Luton town are able to throw more money to stockley park than us?
That said we deserved nothing Luton we’re bossing the game before the red card and we were lucky not to be 1 or 2 goals down. GON refusal to play our top scoring striker is getting ridiculous. Neto again single handedly rescuing this wolves side.
So we could have 7 points if VAR wasn’t so f’d up and that would put us at around mid table.