Everton

Football can be a simple sport.

Winger crosses the ball, forward puts it in the back of the net.

It’s been so long since that’s even been an option for Wolves, I was almost too shocked to celebrate.

I don’t care if it came off Sasa’s head, shoulder or any other part of his considerable anatomy, the only thing that matters is he was there.

From the Everton defender’s body language, the message was clear – ‘How am I supposed to deal with this guy?’.

We saw similar at Old Trafford. He unsettles defenders and creates chaos in the penalty area.

It’s precisely what we’ve been missing and the reason that the Austrian must play every minute he’s fit enough to be considered.

Without him, we’re still playing in front of the opposition almost hoping something opens up and, as we know from considerable experience, it usually doesn’t.

To Fabio’s credit, he got into good positions himself today but squandered another clear run on goal and mistimed his run for the finish he did manage to guide beyond Jordan Pickford.

He’s still not enough of a focal point to effectively lead the line on his own and with Matheus Cunha anonymous, we didn’t ask enough questions. It’s Sasa and one of those two for me.

Pedro Neto showed an admirable amount of effort and tenacity, which was ultimately rewarded with the assist for the match winning moment. It was a superb cross too.

Jose Sa made some huge saves to keep us above water when it felt like the momentum was swinging towards the home side and for that I think he has to be Man of the Match.

The performance generally was probably the worst of the three we’ve had, lacking any of the energy or purposeful attacking we saw against Utd or Brighton.

But when you get the result, none of that matters.

Simple really.

Nothing will be decided by next Friday but two significant things will have happened.

The transfer window of doom will be closed for a start with Matheus Nunes (and possibly other key players) either still at the club or sold.

On the other side of that, Wolves will either have done nothing or something to help Gary O’Neil make a decent fist of things.

I think we need more experience and physicality at both ends of the pitch. A centre half and a centre forward would do just fine for me. Wishful thinking?

Before any of that, there’s the small matter of a game against the only team in the Premier League suffering more than us. We dare not lose.

Everton

I didn’t see their game against Villa but from everything I’ve read, it was a massacre from start to finish. To compound matters for Sean Dyche, both Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Alex Iwobi went off injured and have been ruled out of tomorrow’s game.

That’s good news for us but bad for an Everton side yet to score a goal in their opening two matches. They did have one harshly ruled out against Fulham on the opening weekend and were unlucky to lose that match on the balance of play.

In a bid to bolster their attack, they have added young Sporting Lisbon striker Youssef Chermiti and fellow forwards Arnaut Danjuma and Jack Harrison, but the latter is still some way off returning from injury.

Che Adams is another player they’re close to signing despite well-documented financial issues. Like us, what they do between now and the end of the window may tip the scales one way or the other.

Given everything that’s going on at the club and their form in recent seasons, it would be some achievement if Dyche was again able to keep them afloat.

Wolves

I’m just going to say it – I think Matheus Nunes deliberately got himself sent off against Brighton. He was already on a yellow and knew what the outcome of those late handbags would be and even had a couple of bites. If it wasn’t deliberate, it was idiotic, which is only marginally more forgivable.

Gary O’Neil played a back three a few times at Bournemouth so there might be temptation to fill the void by bringing Toti into the side. If he wanted a like-for-like replacement for Nunes, I guess Sarabia would be the closest match.

I’d try Matt Doherty at left-back, I’d play Neto down the left and I’d be trying to squeeze what I could get out of Sasa Kaladzik. We need players that are effective in the penalty area.

Whatever he does, this is a good test of O’Neil’s tactical acumen and it will be interesting to see if he’s more pragmatic in his approach or continues to play aggressively. I hope it’s the latter, but whatever gets the job done.

Predictions

For the second week running, nobody got the scoreline correct but then again, a 4-1 home defeat is a bold forecast.

Well done to AgentCyan, Ash K, PeteRobbo, Sheffieldwolf, Wokywolf and t’OM who’ve got the outcome of both games correct. The question is, will they all go for a third straight defeat?

I myself am going for a draw. We’ve looked a better side than Everton over the two games each side has played so far, but I do worry about our ability to navigate this particular challenge. It’s going to be a hot atmosphere, even this early in the season. Both teams know what it means. 1-1.

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!

The fans arrived in a sentimental mood but Julen Lopetegui wasn’t having any of it.

With no Moutinho or Jonny in the squad and Raul left working the touchline as an unused substitute, this wasn’t the fond farewell many had anticipated.

But Adama reminded us all of the good old days with a full length sprint that ended with Hwang slotting in the opener and with several sumptuous Neves passes to appreciate, the crowd at least got some of what they wanted.

It sort of fell apart a bit for Everton after a good start. For a while it felt inevitable they’d open the scoring with Wolves unable to retain the ball and crosses raining down on Dan Bentley’s goal.

But Traore’s super break and a couple of injuries really set them back and from that point it was Wolves’ game to lose.

We should have punished them in the second half but as usual we squandered the few chances we created and when we did finally manage a good effort from Matheus Nunes, Pickford was there to keep it out.

The Toffees were on their knees, relying on long punts into the area and set pieces as their only route to goal with Wolves defending superbly to repel the bombardment.

But when the board went up showing an almost inexplicable 9 minutes of additional time, it felt inevitable that something would develop.

We came within one cross of seeing it out but credit to Everton for keeping at it and getting what could be the most precious reward.

Did Lopetegui learn anything from the multitude of changes he made to the team? Probably not.

Collins worked hard and won his share of tackles but looked nervous at times and seems too error prone to be consistently relied upon.

Podence drifted in and out trying all the usual flicks, Hwang scored his goal and covered the ground while Sarabia struggled to adapt to the pace of the game.

With such indifferent attacking options it felt cruel for Raul not to get at least a token few minutes but I trust in the manager’s judgement.

We should respect the past but look to the future.

It’s time to move forward and hopefully find some new heroes.

This is a massive game – for Everton.

How much resistance Wolves can offer is anyone’s guess.

We’ve seen some papery performances from this team but, to their credit, they’ve been excellent at home and won the last four without conceding a goal.

Signing off with a fifth successive home victory would be splendid and further underline the good work Julen Lopetegui has done since Christmas.

There are already noises about FFP issues and worrying lines from the manager seeking assurances. Whatever happens with the playing staff we must retain him at all costs.

Everton

One win from the final two should be enough for Sean Dyche’s side and the fixtures look kind. Wolves away and Bournemouth at home is favourable to the challenges facing the sides around them.

But it’s still perilous. Lose tomorrow and Leeds would only need a draw at West Ham to seize the initiative going into the last day. Leicester have a job on their hands at Newcastle but a shock result there could also spell trouble, particularly with the Foxes having a superior goal difference.

Forest aren’t out of it completely, mainly due to having the worst goal difference of all the clubs down there and Arsenal to come. 34 might be enough for them but it’s right on the edge.

My best guess is Leeds and Leicester to drop but I’m looking forward to seeing how it unfolds over the next two weekends and getting a front row seat tomorrow.

The Toffees smashed Brighton 5-1 in their last away game and looked a really good unit. Sean Dyche says he’s happy with the consistency of their performances and I would agree they look a lot more competitive.

Wolves

I think Julen saw a different game to me at Old Trafford. In his post match comments he suggested Man Utd didn’t have that many chances, but I thought they missed several sitters even before they went ahead and should have won by a bigger margin.

But it was our meagre attacking play that frustrated me most. Nobody took any risks or played with purpose in the final third and consequently we didn’t create a single chance.

I’ve gone with the same XI but only because they’ve done so well at Molineux and I’m hoping we can repeat that success tomorrow.

It might not be a bad game for João Gomes with the combative qualities he brings to the midfield. Toti has to play because we need the three big defenders to combat the obvious and very real threat they pose from set pieces.

Will Daniel Bentley retain his place or will Sa come back? The former certainly couldn’t have done any more at Old Trafford. I was impressed.

Predictions

Well done to Rich, Prawny, Sea Pigeon and Pete Dunbar who all correctly predicted the score against Man Utd.

Rich now has an unassailable 7 point lead at the top of the overall table at the end of Gameweek 36 and is the Prediction League champion for 2022/23. Well done mate.

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.

Better to be lucky than good.

In Julen Lopetegui’s debut in the Premier League, it appears we might have a manager who is both.

The Spaniard’s pedigree was beyond question before we finally landed him in November, the evidence of which could be seen in a late change in formation that stymied Everton in the latter stages and assisted our smash-and-grab winner at the death.

But even more encouraging was him benefiting from a generous dollop of good fortune, because we’ve been light on it in recent times and moreover, we were crap.

Call it the gravy on the turkey or the brandy butter on the Christmas pud, it tasted delicious and we need lashings more of the ingredient until our Spaniard can weed out a few of these failures and replace with much better in January.

Matheus Cunha is an excellent start and will surely offer infinitely more than the leaden footed carthorse Costa, who we should never have touched with a bargepole in the first place.

Some other additions with much needed leadership qualities wouldn’t go amiss either, as we sold the few we had to begin with, didn’t replace and now have a flaky side who I wouldn’t trust to put the bins out, never mind mark a player from a corner. Mina’s free header after seven minutes being a stark reminder of why.

In fact, the 88 minutes thereafter were a sobering post World Cup reminder of why we plunged to the foot of the league before the tournament began. Amid the garbage was surely Podence’s best performance of the season in a heartening showing. He was one of few who really caught the eye and deserves praise, irrespective of his well-taken goal.

We are incapable of keeping the ball and are too-often overrun in midfield, our defence is laced with errors and we don’t have nearly enough cutting thrust in the final third. Our game management is awful and we don’t work hard enough when we don’t have the ball.

Collins’ profligacy in the first half and Hwang’s revolting lack of effort to track back thereafter gave three examples of the above in the space of 5 seconds. Everton’s Gordon should have scored and on another day, he would have.

Collins also resembled a baby giraffe when the ball hit his heels which allowed Maupay a clear sighter at goal which he’s buried against us in one or two previous fixtures.

Thankfully he didn’t and in fairness, Everton operated at arm’s length in the second half for the most part, although we still needed a goal line clearance from Neves to preserve what looked like a handy away point.

It would become all three when we showed an unlikely ruthless edge with the last attack of the game, Ait Nouri firing home from a deflected Traore cross, aided by a lovely Nunes through ball in the build-up.

For Lopetegui, he couldn’t have dreamt of 5pm scenes like these. A performance littered with the same old errors, featuring the same flaky failures who prompted his mercy-dash to Molineux to begin with, and three priceless points as a reward for watching it all…

…The lucky old devil.

If we can only win one of the next three, this would be the one to choose.

It would be nice to sign-off the year by beating Utd or start 2023 with victory at Villa Park, but neither of those sides will be in contention for the drop. Everton could be.

Prior to Lopetegui’s arrival I wouldn’t have given Wolves much hope in any of these games but I do expect us to improve under his leadership and with a few more players available, we’ve got a chance.

At the same time, he doesn’t have a magic wand to fix the individual and collective shortcomings of the group. It’s going to take time and new personnel to really shake things up.

Everton

There was a brief period when it seemed like Frank Lampard was onto something this season.

A good performance in the Merseyside Derby and a couple of wins against West Ham and Southampton got them going. But things have gone off course in recent months.

Two thrashings in the space of a few days by Bournemouth (one in the League Cup) saw nasty exchanges between fans and players as they sunk to within a point of the relegation places.

Prior to that they’d been solid enough defensively and just struggling to do enough damage at the other end.

Without question they’ve profited by adding our club captain to their ranks and it’s almost impossible to deny that had we not let him go, we’d be above them in the table.

I’m assuming he can’t play tomorrow and that should work in our favour. Dominic Calvert Lewin is also doubtful and any loss to their firepower is welcome.

Wolves

There are plenty of decisions for Julen to make and they will have an impact on how this plays out.

The above is what I’d probably start with if everyone was fit but there’s a question mark over Boubacar. That’s a shame because he was excellent against Arsenal.

Nunes and Traore didn’t start in midweek but it’s a big call to leave them out. I’d expect to see Raul and Hwang from the bench and it’s good that we can now stack these attacking players in games to change things up. That could make all the difference.

Matheus Cunha is imminent too and he hasn’t been brought in to make up the numbers. It wouldn’t surprise me if one of those attacking players left in January but I’d be happy to keep all of them. It’s all hands on deck.

We need some aggression and leadership in defence so a centre half and a right back would be top of my shopping list.

Predictions

Well done to Wokeywolf, Matthew Cook, pauluswolf, Rich, Sandwich Wolf, StrangeLuck, wishfart and Twixfix for all getting the scoreline correct in the defeat to Arsenal.

PeteRobbo remains clear at the top of the overall table at the end of Gameweek 15.

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!