Brentford

These precious back to back wins have created the blueprint for what we can achieve under Lopetegui.

We’re starting to resemble a team that has an appetite for pressing, defending and winning second balls.

And that intensity off the ball translates to pace and movement when in possession.

When was the last time we could say all of the above about a Wolves side?

Special praise must go to Diego. The way he presses from the front and brings Cunha and Sarabia into play is something we’ve sorely missed. The goal might have been fortuitous but he earned that luck with the position he took up. Surely he warrants another year?

As for Nunes, the way he glides between the lines is utterly joyous. He’s now playing with confidence and panache.

The same can be said about Lemina and Gomes getting through mountains of work in the engine room.

Of course Neves has to come straight back into the team, but have we already settled on next year’s midfield?

As for the defence, it’s like watching a brick wall. Dawson’s experience and excellent positioning has transformed Kilman and Semedo. Likewise with Toti, who has surprised us all with his rampaging runs down the left.

I don’t want to get ahead of myself – safety isn’t quite secured. But imagine what Lopetegui could achieve with another transfer window and a full pre-season?

It wasn’t just the result against Chelsea, it was the nature of the performance.

Gritty, energetic and full of endeavour. Characteristics that have been sorely lacking at times in this challenging season.

Brentford will provide a completely different challenge. They’re not a talented but disparate group of individuals, they’re a well drilled team with an established way of playing.

Even so, we must adopt the same approach to the game and try to get another seismic victory. Three points would put us right on the periphery of survival.

Brentford

I don’t want to simplify the success of Thomas Frank’s team to set pieces but it’s impossible to overlook the stats.

20 of their goals have come from dead balls (if you include the 7 penalties they’ve notched) and they win more in the air than any other Premier League team.

They’re very good at building up pressure from crosses and making teams pay if they can’t stand up to that physical threat.

They’re low numbers are in the possession and dribbling stats marking them out as a direct and efficient unit.

Ivan Toney still hasn’t been suspended for some reason but his form on the pitch has been spectacular. He has 18 Premier League goals to his name.

Defeat to Newcastle last weekend made it four games without a win but they have been on a tough run of fixtures. They’re the league’s draw specialists with 13 so far.

Wolves

This might be the first week I can confidently predict Lopetegui won’t tinker with his starting XI.

Not only did the above XI perform well against Chelsea it also makes sense against a team likely to load the box.

We effectively have a third centre half with Toti down the left and both Cunha and Costa can help out aerially too, meaning we shouldn’t just get blown away from set pieces.

That also leaves options galore from the bench if things go south and we need to change the shape of the attack.

Predictions

Well done to Wolfstroker, Liz, Matt Cook and DeptfordWolf for all correctly predicting the scoreline against Chelsea and pocketing a maximum.

Rich remains four-points clear at the top of the overall table at the end of Gameweek 29.

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!

Thank goodness for Ruben Neves.

Ruben’s tackling, Ruben’s passing, Ruben’s shooting, Ruben’s leadership, Ruben’s verbal peppering of the referee to get us the best outcome.

The latter won’t be to everyone’s taste but it’s part of the whole package that is leaving everything on the pitch for this football club.

It might be the worst start the team have endured since he joined from Porto but it’s also been his best.

He raised us from the canvas again yesterday with the ultimate response to Ben Mee’s scissor kick that felt like the precursor to another Wolves collapse.

Later, there was a passage of play that perfectly summed up the imbalance between his personal efforts and the shortcomings of those around him.

He played a smart give and go before unleashing a cross field pass that took out the entire Brentford defence and left Guedes running towards goal. When you felt he was certain to come inside and shoot he instead played a scuffed reverse pass to Costa and the move fizzled out.

That disconnect between the component parts of our attack remains the biggest problem.

Traore, Podence and Costa all did some good things individually in the game but there wasn’t much in the way of combination play.

The trio will now be broken up anyway after Diego dropped the nut on that man Mee. We know he does this type of thing so little point in condemning him for the stupidity.

Some will say it doesn’t matter because he hasn’t scored anyway, but I think his presence has brought structure to the team that we’ll be poorer without in the weeks ahead.

Boubacar had an interesting afternoon, giving the ball away more times than I care to remember but cancelling that out with relentless pressing and some key interceptions. I definitely think this team gains more than it loses with his inclusion.

Hopefully the injury to Nunes doesn’t see him out for long. There’s no doubt the adjustment to the Premier League has been uncomfortable for our record signing but I still believe he can be a key differential as we look to avoid the drop.

Not as key as Ruben of course who has again been linked with a move to Barcelona in the new year.

Think hard on that one Jeff.

As debilitating as the lack of goals has been in this awful start, Wolves have still dropped 8 points from winning positions.

Leeds, Newcastle and Palace were all opportunities to get results that would have kept things respectable.

But instead, those matches went away through poor game management and individual defensive errors.

Even in the two victories that were secured we relied on a penalty save and an inexplicable miss from Che Adams to stay ahead.

The goals have got to come but things have got to tighten up all over the pitch if Wolves are to dig themselves out of this mess. Does this group have the character and leadership to rise to the challenge?

Brentford

Not many people will have seen the 4-0 drubbing at Villa Park coming prior to the weekend in what was their worst performance in an otherwise good start to the campaign.

They’ve seen off Leeds, Brighton and Man Utd, all at home and were unlucky not to beat Chelsea too prior to their humbling at Villa.

Ivan Toney is still the main man and his 8 goals already have him pushing hard for a place at the World Cup. If nothing else, he should be picked for his penalty prowess alone.

The Bees have scored 18 overall but conceded 21, so they certainly give you a chance. Whether Wolves can take advantage is another question.

Although I thought they’d struggle this season, Toney and Mbemo alone are enough to keep them out of trouble if they can tighten up at the back.

Wolves

I think Steve Davis needs to revert to the side that started at Palace.

We didn’t possess enough bite or athleticism to cope with Leicester and I think Semedo and Boubacar can bring those things.

I’ve seen a few people suggest dropping into a back three and bringing Toti back in. There might be some value in that if we continue being as open.

But if we can cut the supply line to their forwards and press higher up, it should also help us win the ball in better areas to start our own attacks.

Gamble

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Predictions

Nobody thought we’d lose 4-0 to Leicester.

PeteRobbo has the lead at the top of the overall table at the end of Gameweek 12.

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!

I’ve not made as many away games as I’d like this season, but I wish I’d made this one.

Drones stopping play, a second half interval that felt as if it lasted an eternity, an overturned red card, a SECOND goal of the season for Joao Moutinho, and a canceled swansong from Adama Traore.

Whoops, I almost forgot to mention the pot-kettle-black irony of Brentford fans moaning about time wasting.

No, this isn’t a script for the new series of The Twilight Zone. This is a summary of the madcap events of Brentford 1 Wolves 2.

It’s certainly a game that will live long in the memory, and is further proof of the wonderful job Bruno Lage is doing at our club.

Wolves had to dig in deep for that today, and dig they did.

I’d say we were second best prior to drone-gate, with Brentford evidently keen to halt their recent bad run of results.

But after play finally resumed, we were much more fluent. I thought Podence did a great job of occupying the pockets of space between the home side’s defence and midfield, with young Fabio Silva showing plenty of willingness alongside him.

It was ironic that the deadlock should be broken by one of the least prolific scorers on the pitch, but it was a lovely goal nonetheless. Semedo, surely our most improved player this season, did really well to tee up our 5’7 maestro, who finished with aplomb.

The nerves kicked in around the time of the red card that never was, so much so that it wasn’t a huge surprise to see the Bees level the game. What was surprising was the paucity of our defending, with Ivan Toney virtually unmarked at the back post.

Still, to concede your first goal from a set piece at the end of January is some feat and, that aside, it was another assured defensive display from the Wanderers. Toti Gomes is virtually like a new signing and has brought some welcome competition for our established back three.

With the home side in the ascendancy, you’d have been forgiven for fearing the worst. But this Wolves team don’t roll over for anyone, and so it showed when Reuben Neves added another to his seemingly endless highlight reel.

It was a moment right up there with his scuffed winner at Villa Park, and proved even more crucial when Traore’s farewell strike was cruelly (but correctly) chalked off at the death.

The table doesn’t lie at this stage of the season so make no mistake about it, we’re in the mix for European football. And with Arsenal, Spurs and West Ham to come next month, squeaky bum time is just around the corner.

But bet against Bruno’s boys at your peril. They’re the real deal.

Things have never been so good for Wolves in the Premier League.

Well, after 20 games anyway. 31 points at this stage is the best tally we’ve ever achieved in the competition.

We’re sitting pretty in 8th and with the possible exception of Brighton, everyone below us is lacking consistency.

The question is: do we dare to look north?

Man Utd certainly aren’t great, Spurs and Arsenal aren’t the finished product and we have games in hand to reel West Ham in, so why not?

February will tell us a lot with games against three of those sides, but before that we’ve got a trip to Brentford’s shiny new ground.

Brentford

The Bees have kept themselves away from immediate danger with three narrow home victories in the last three months. Everton in November, Watford in December and Villa in January.

It’s been mostly defeats in between though and having played more games than all the teams around them, there’s still plenty of work to do.

They’ll look at this fixture as an opportunity, particularly having seen Wolves off with a degree of comfort at Molineux in September.

Ivan Toney and Bryan Mbeumo got the goals on that occasion and although they’re still the guys Brentford will look to on Saturday, the respectable 25 goals they’ve managed so far have been spread around the team.

Conceding has been the problem and the 36 they’ve shipped gives them one of the weakest defences in the league. They did of course though keep a cleansheet against Wolves earlier in the season.

Wolves

That was a gutsy decision by Bruno to select Toti Gomes for the Southampton game and it paid off handsomely with the big defender putting in a strong performance.

With Ruben Neves available for this one, Dendoncker could move into the back three but I’d like another look at Toti to see if he can establish himself as a viable option. His aggression in the air and recovery pace give us qualities we don’t always have at the back.

Both Adama and Fabio contributed off the bench but I suspect they’ll have to settle for another supporting role with that front three looking more established in recent weeks.

Trincao helps the team tick along in possession but has to deliver more individually. Daniel Podence is looking sharper by the week and hopefully he can avoid those niggling injuries that have hampered his progress at the club.

New boy Chiquinho should be on the bench if he is – as reported – a first-team signing. With Hwang and Neto still to return I can’t help but think he’s being viewed as a stop-gap solution in the likely event Traore leaves before the month is out.

Last time out

When Brentford deservedly won 2-0 at Molineux in September, they moved five points ahead of us in the table. The fact we’re now eight points clear of them having played two games fewer underlines our improvement since those early weeks.

The last time this specific fixture took place it was staged at Griffin Park and was a rare stalemate in our title-winning season under Nuno. We won 3-0 in the game at Molineux later in the campaign.

On a sunny note for both sides, it’s worth remembering we’ve played each other in League One, the Championship and now the Premier League over a relatively short span of time. Both clubs have made outstanding progress.

Predictions

Well done to Graham from Horsham, theDOOGooder, The Witley Wanderer and Jazzwolf54 who all got the 3-1 scoreline against Southampton correct to collect a maximum last time out.

AveburyWolf still holds a margin lead over Cannock Wolf (courtesy of having got his score with one fewer prediction) at the top of the overall table at the end of Gameweek 20.

As always, if you’d like to join in, 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!

Polite request – when commenting in the preview article after the game has finished, can you not place score predictions in the boxes, please? It confuses the system. Many thanks.