Hold onto something. This one is big.
If we win, it doesn’t guarantee safety and if we lose, we’ll probably still end the weekend outside of the bottom three.
But I suspect one way or the other we’ll look back at this game in a month and realise it was seminal.
We edged them out in the league and they put us out of the cup and both matches were chockablock with animosity.
It’s going to be another hot atmosphere at the City Ground tomorrow and I just hope our lads are ready for the challenge.
Forest
Their gung-ho transfer strategy will either be viewed as necessary or foolish depending on what happens between now and the end of May.
If they’re relegated, I do wonder what the future looks like with a bloated squad full of high earners. Has it really been one giant punt? Those closer to the club may have a different view.
One high-profile January acquisition was Chris Wood but he’s now out for the season. I thought that was a big signing for them but it didn’t seem like he performed even before this injury took him out.
Keylor Navas, Jonjo Shelvey and Felipe bring experience and bite to the spine of their side. They’ll be leaning heavily on those players to get them over the line.
And then of course there’s Gibbs-White, who seems destined to have a big say in this game and Forest’s survival. He hasn’t set the world on fire there but has established himself as a good Premier League player.
Wolves
Over to you Julen. Good luck trying to find the most suitable XI out of the multitude of configurations. I’ve agonised over it and landed on this, which I’m still not sure is right.
The headlines are an experienced midfield three that I think will cope with the pressure, retain the ball and fight to the death. I just don’t trust Nunes in any of those respects.
I’d play Bueno at left-back over Ait-Nouri. Again, it’s about aggression and playing with the right intensity.
Up front, it could end up being none of the three I’ve chosen but I think Pedro is looking sharper and got plenty of minutes for the Portugal u21s. Traore gives us the out ball from a more static-looking midfield and Cunha over Raul, just because the latter has had a run of games and still not scored. If I was a Forest fan, I think that would be the three I wouldn’t want to face.
If we go with the likes of Nunes, Ait-Nouri, Podence, Sarabia and Raul, we’re going to struggle in a dogfight, which I can see this becoming. All can have a say from the bench.
Predictions
Nobody thought we’d lose 4-2 to Leeds last time out unsurprisingly, so that makes it nice and easy.
Rich remains four-points clear at the top of the overall table at the end of Gameweek 28.
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!
April Fool’s Day. At least the blog writes itself if we fold again tomorrow.
But I’m backing us to turn up and get the result.
They’ve got a few injury issues and like Wolves, have struggled to hold down a consistent XI. There isn’t a single doubt in my mind that we’ve got more quality, but it’s about application.
That’s why I’ve picked the above XI. Those who I just intuitively feel will understand what they’re going into and will, as a bare minimum, contest every ball.
Ruben and Pedro to get the goals. We know who’ll score for them.
Calm heads required.
This could go either way but I’m backing us for the win
We owe Forest one.
And I don’t mean a point… or even a goal.
There’a a lot of bad blood bubbling over between us, and we have to show the grit and balls to overcome a team that, on paper, given the talent available, we should beat.
If Conor Coady was a blood donor, I’d give each and every one of our starting eleven a pint of what courses through his veins.
Come on lads, play like you really mean it. Give it everything, and then some.
For the shirt, the club, the fans…
…But most importantly – yourselves!
Bad blood is a bit far fetched, it’s just another game to both sides, that they need to win.
At least the Wolves nemesis Chris Wood won’t be scoring as out with injury.
Expert Wolves fans saying MGW was not PL quality, so he is sold and we buy a load of PL quality dross with his money.
Lope should be getting consistent positive results now…………but he is not !!!
you must of not been on twitter in the last 6months – or attend games
It is really bad blood.
Please its a game called football not life or death !!!
Wouldn’t have mountinho near the starting 11
That is the biggest mistake J-Lo makes
He is good, but is old now – We are playing against relegation rivals – we need energy and fight. Not a withering old man walking in the middle of the pitch.
I have lost all hope – There is something wrong with the coaching staff – its so pitiful how low our goal scoring is especially as we spent £350,000,00
Crazy
Also – Collins should start over Kilman – Kilman lost his spark when Coady and Saiss left.
Its shame – what a shambles of a club
Have you ever seen him play?
He’s the most tenacious player in our squad. If you want to disrupt the opposition and still play the ball there are few better.
Ok, Sure. What ever you say.
Can’t be watching the same games i guess, but I believe you…
Very wise WFiL. Very wise ?
Moutinho has been synonymous with Wolves low goal scoring, over the past 2 and a half seasons along with others in midfield including DeDonkey now gone and Neves. 96 goals from 104 matches.
Wanderers have had a problem with their service, in not providing chances for the strikers and how many has Moutinho contributed ?
To support that further surely Mir, Cutrone, Jos’e, then Fabio now Raul, Diego, Hwang and Cunha know how to score goals but blanked mainly from poor service.
I want to see Moutinho and Neves gone and a creative midfield at MolineuX.
That will score goals, win matches win trophies and not be the current recurring status quo in 2023/24. LETS WIN SOMETHING
Collins over Kilman? You must be John Bishop.
We blew our opportunity against Bournemouth and then against Leeds. Third time lucky? I hope so for our chances of survival but in the dogfight we now find ourselves in we carry too many players in the starting XI who simply haven’t got the warrior spirit of neves (and players like Saiss and Coady used to bring to the team). With games ticking down, no sign of real goal scoring threat, we have an almighty challenge on our hands. Is this team good enough to beat the drop? Tomorrow will probably give us the clearest indication yet as to whether we have the minerals ( cojones for our Iberian friends ) to do the job.
Forest have been pretty hot at home. Their crowd help to carry them over the line and, with all the, what should I call it, bad blood, between the clubs in recent times the home fans will be right up for it.
However, this can work both ways. The importance of the game brings pressure and the home team can
sometimes feel that pressure more. Especially if we can start strongly.
Impossible to predict how this will end up.
Forest’s massive punt seems to be working about as well as our massive punt tbh. They’ve got three players back and five or six out by the looks of it, this will be the acid test for their recruitment strategy.
MGW would stroll into this team on his current form. You can’t blame him for being pissed off with Wolves, a serial lack of faith in him by Nuno and Lage drove him out and by the looks of it that seems to be policy regarding all Academy players, Bueno being the exception. If the players can’t break through then something is wrong somewhere. He’ll be doubly fired up for this one though after the Carabao Cup debacle.
We still havn’t seen the Jiminez/Cunha combo upfront that we all thought had so much promise a couple of weeks or so back, Cuhna got his first goal when they were both on the pitch last week so i would like to seem them both start. Sarabia was getting into some great positions against Leeds but unfortunately couldn’t hit a barn door. Neto still blows hot and cold for me. Traore on for the second half cos bizarrely that seems to work but rarely as a starter. Jonny getting sent off may well be a blessing in disguise as at least RAN offers us something going forward despite going awol occasionally at the back. Maybe Boubacar in for Mouthino.
I reckon it’ll be a good game for the neutral and a nightmare for us and Forest fans.
We play some lovely football when it’s clicking and we’re gonna smash someone else other than Liverpool at some point so lets hope it’s Forest tomoz. UTW
I think this is a game for Moutinho, or a half anyway, and would not be surprised to see Joe Hodge on the bench.
It won’t end up 11v 11 with MGW, Shelley stirring things up.
JLo has talked about staying calm and respect- we can overcome Forest but management must set the example. Time to stand up and be counted, a point is not a disaster but two difficult games to come.
We really have to get something from this to try and add a bit of breathing space.
As long as everyone is up for it we will prevail.
Tough game
A lot of work goes through MGW so to me he’s a danger
Hope Johnson is not fit
J Lo seems to like leaving at least 2 top quality on the bench
I’m finding it hard to be very positive for this one. I’m clinging onto the hope that there will be a reaction to the Leeds nightmare, and certainly the passion that overflowed onto the pitch near the end of that game gives me some inkling that it might just matter more to the players than many commentators have been suggesting recently.
But Thomas’ comments to Paddy’s last post about the lack of physicality in the side have gotten into my head. This could be a fight (in more ways than one) and they look more physical to me. It’s good that Wood is out for sure but although they haven’t been winning lately, they do at least score a few, even in defeat.
I hope I’m wrong because we really need to win this one.
The Leeds nightmare started this run let’s hope this year it finished it
I agree Thom, this one is huge for us. Having had my cathartic rant about the state of our squad, I will say that I do believe Lopetegui is capable of keeping us up this season and so I think, at the very least, we won’t lose this one.
Getting really nervous already about this game – it’s a proper 6 pointer in my view.
I think that we should be just too good for them from a football point of view but ,if the game turns nasty and scrappy, I’m not sure that we have too many hardened battlers in our squad.
I hope for a scrappy win and I will be wearing my lucky underpants to help the cause.
Good to see the back of Chris Wood, he had a nasty habit of scoring against us. In spite of his recent form he’s always been a bogey player against Wolves. I suppose we should have signed him when Kenny Jackett had the chance on promotion to the championship. I hope MGW doesn’t become a bogey player in his place. OK, he hasn’t lived up to his transfer fee yet but neither have most of our recent buys either.
I like your set-up and philosophy Thomas but I query if Moutinho will be up for the aggression and intensity you mention. At his age his supreme talent is still undimmed but is his body up to it? I’d probably look to being him on in the second half if needed.
Typically of Wolves, we lose a couple of games we should have won and win a couple of games we were expected to lose. I see that Forest are on offer to win at 19/10 on BetVictor. I’ll happily accept the recent inconsistency of Wolves if we can win a game we are expected to lose. 3-1 to us.
Most more confident more than I am.
Horrible Shelvey and horrible MGW with the goals
The Fair Play League table makes interesting reading. It’s bang up to date. I know we’ve had poor decisions against us but we have got to get a grip on our emotions. Lopetegui included. Guess what, we are bottom of the Fair Play League:
https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/premier-league/fairnesstabelle/wettbewerb/GB1/saison_id/2022
I’m going for a 2-1 win for Wolves. I hope we have a right hand side that can defend this week.
If we stay up, we at least know where we need to strengthen.
Mind you, we have known that for the last three seasons;ugh!
I’m not looking forward to sitting through this game; far too nervy.
Can see us bouncing back and maybe get a ref that actually gives us something.
Bueno just edges for me over Ant Nouri but both aren’t the best at getting back to defend.
I’m afraid I’d wouldn’t play Semedo again the blokes form and effectiveness are zero he is another one who gets pulled apart by the opersition but there’s no one else pushing for his place either. A massive cull is needed end of season to many players drifting along not pulling there weight.
These are the games we need to win not the Liverpools and Arsenals these games against teams around us will decide if we stay up or not, not beating Liverpool and the other so called big clubs this game is worth more than just the 3 points.
I agree with Thomas we cannot afford any shirkers or carry anyone all 11 have to be on there game, what I would like to see is Gomes at some point the guy must think he’s done something wrong scores on his debut and hasn’t had a sniff since.
Like Thomas said win and we are not safe lose and we are not down but losing will make staying up much harder and thes damage to confidence might be irepairable.
J.Lop. needs to put a rocket up these players the margin for error is getting thinner and thinner by the game and there are only so many left.
Gomes started against Leeds? Needs to be eased in, a young man with lots of talent, Boubacar more experienced and has a goal in him too.
The manager needs to get the defence sorted out. I’d go three at the back and two up front Raul and Cunha, use wing backs to get forward when possible but tell them their main task is to defend. Bueno if he’s fully fit. Midfield of Neves, Lemina and Gomes. Get organised, play tough but fair and don’t be kidded into getting into unproductive squabbles. That goes for the manager and staff as well. I’ve said it before the games against Bournemouth and Leeds – a win would be good, but first priority always should be to avoid defeat against teams lower down the table!
I quite like Thomas’ line up and hope Bueno is back fully fit.
After the Leeds debacle who knows.
Yet this is another 6 pointer and this time one we must win or I reaLly do see us in the relegation mire.
COYW.
.
No Jonny to gift the opposition goals this week, so maybe a clean sheet?
I agree with Thom’s team except the maestro from Monaco ..
He’s the type to come on 2nd half and manage the game … folks will disagree but I like Nunes … not his usual position out on the left but when he puts in a shift .. he can influence things on the pitch .. imo.
Either way we needs players with balls of steel and cool mindsets .. having seen who the ref is .. Chris Kavanagh .. he of Mitrovich epic man-handling ( and Marco Silva moaning ) .. oooh this could be squeaky bum time with JLo and co.
The first goal will have a big impact tomorrow.. and if .. if .. we score first I think we’re more than capable of seeing it through.
Of course MGW will be trying to shaft us but Traore will be shafting him come 90+ minutes on the clock . I’d certainly stick with Dawson and Kilman but would prefer Jimenez to Cunha .. providing us with height defending corners ..
either way .. a very comfortable and much needed win with Dawson and Jimenez on the scoresheet ..
We struggle to score…. So
We’ve got the quality (in theory) , but do we have the fight? Some of the team do, but we’ll need everyone pulling together. In front of the Forest crowd, and after losing to Leeds, this is a real test. Let’s hope we get the first goal, as I think that could decide this one.
They ll be feeling as confident as we were against leeds
Look what happened to us
On that basis …..
.
I could see a loss or a tie, but this is it and I’m backing the team
So tomorrow we are up against Nottingham Forest. It’s a bit weird because every time I have been to Nottingham I have never seen anything remotely resembling a forest. Not even a wooded area or a pleasant shrubbery. They even have a striker called Wood. Luckily for WWFC he is not playing which is actually jolly good because he is a bloody nuisance and ALWAYS scores against us. He has also got a massive nose and although that shouldn’t be held against him it can put off our defenders at corners and stuff. Max Killman must think we need to put 2 defenders near Wood. One to stop him heading the ball and the other to stop his nose putting Jose Sa’s eye out. So embrace the good news. No Wood. No enormous nose to cause injury to our defenders. No forests. No shrubbery. No neatly manicured hedgrows. None of that will get in our way and I predict a 1-0 victory for WWFC. Of course VAR will attempt to rule the goal (scored after 65 minutes) out for a previously unknown ruling ” Any goal scored by Wolverhampton Wanderers between minute 64 and minute 66 shall be ruled out because during this particular minute Forest have to water their shrubbery”. Luckily Next Door Neighbours Cat is undercover at Stockley Park and causes a power outage thus making VAR evidence inadmissible. The goal stands and WWFC cling on for a massive win. After the game Steve Cooper said ” I knew it wasn’t going to be our day after I inadvertently trod on a begonia in my shrubbery this morning “. J Lo said ” I thought we would suffer again due to the previously unheard of ‘Nottingham Forest Shrubbery Rule’ which applies to minute 65. Luckily Next Door Neighbours Cat was on hand to help us out. He will be rewarded with 10 cans of lager immediately”. Forest 0 WWFC 1
Looks tight. A score draw for me.
As an aside, and on a different subject, down yer in Devon the local team have a big day out on Sunday.
Plymouth Argyle are making a rare trip to Wembley to play Bolton in the EFL Trophy final. Never been in the top division, Argyle. Mostly bumping around the lower leagues. Nearly 200miles to Wembley.
Tickets sold to the Green Army?
Knocking on 40,000.
Have a grand day out all you Demshire Dumplings.
Getting close to the 50000 Wolves fans at Wembley 1988 Sherpa Van trophy v Burnley. Any way. Impressive following. Good luck to them!
Good luck indeed, a day never to forget. I still wince when I hear the name Bolton- John McGinlay comes to mind.
2 teams with very similar looking league records to date this season. But they’ve conceded significantly more goals than we have, while the goals scored columns are identical I think.
It’s going to be feisty for sure and Forest are bound to try and wind us up, including our manager. So please Wolves! Keep your cool, on the field and on the bench.
Given what I’ve said, I’m predictably going for a score draw. I hope I’m wrong. I’d love us to really stuff this lot.
I was born in Nottingham, but there’s only one team I’ll be supporting.
It’s going to be a feisty, no holds barred, controversial, card laden game with a sprinkling of VAR cocks ups and a side order of dodgy decisions. I doubt 22 players will remain at the final whistle and I have no clue who will win or what the score will be.
Strap yourselves in.
It won’t be dull.
UTW
Forest are also having a bad run and are bottom of the last six matches form table. Two draws from the last six. We are third from bottom with a win and a draw. This could go any way but yet again I hope for us to play with commitment and passion for 90 minutes.
2-0 to me babbies.
AWOL of late, so my return will see the old gold and black return to winning ways. Well, I can dream.which is nicer than the nightmare that was Leeds
Will J-lo of galvanised this team and told them to brush off the awful refereeing decisions? Told them to hold there nerve against the hostile atmosphere that will undoubtedly be there tomorrow? I really hope so.! On paper wolves are superior that’s without a doubt! Although we were against Bournemouth and Leeds, and look what happened there and both of those games we lost at home! We just can’t seem to transfer that superiority onto the pitch against teams we should easily be picking up points from! Something feels wrong and I fear a loss tomorrow will be a massive downward spiral back to the bottom three that I can’t see us getting out of!
I’d take a draw right now and just move on to Chelsea. Feel more confident about that match tbh
Think this one will be a stalemate…
Be nice to see Boubacar come on as I think he’ll be well up for it, but watching forest theyve been up for it in most of the games I’ve seen them, still think Jimenez can do a job today here’s hoping
With Leeds but a distant memory, and Woods out of the Forest, this is it, el crunchico, How badly do we need to win? Very, very badly. Our confidence in PL survival, fragile of late, needs stiffening up with some goals. Which, to be fare, have been going in occasionally.
Let’s hold hands and pray together MGW doesn’t come up with the price tag performance. And JJ doesn’t unleash a 40 yd worldy.
Meanwhile, I fancy J-Lo to get the first strike in against the Puppy Master, Steve ‘Slugger’ Jones. Jonsey will take the early shots, but J-Lo’s footwork is too fast, moving the pitbull left and right. Ok our man has too take a couple of deflected blows, but he’s firing off accurate jabs and piercing the frankly amateur defence Jones’s putting up.
The Welshman hasn’t taken this much punishment since Klopp bit his leg off.
And that’s five unanswered strikes, they’re carrying Jonsey off, he’s had enough. And J-Lo’s following him down the tunnel, he’s seen red, he’s wiping the blood off his Knuckles. What a contest. Now back to the football.
Should be a riot either way.
1 lv & COYW
No playing from the back from Sa…
No needless passing backwards…
No red cards please…
No amateur dramatics to wind everyone up…
Get the ball and players into the Forest box…
Then we should be ok and it’s a six pointer.
COYW
A big game, so let us hope that our big players turn up. We could win but being the Wolves they will make it sqeeky-bum time!
I agree with the formation listed. No idea regarding prediction. I think I would settle for a draw,
I’ll take the Thomas formation aside from Moutihno… and Raul
This is blood and guts time and stop MGW who will play like a man
Possessed
I didn’t want us to sell him
I’m
Braced for relegation
If JLo stays and Shi funds JLo rebuild we will be back quickly
But maybe we scrape thru
A loss tomorrow will
Be fatal
So make me wrong lads
OODCL
There has been needle between us ever since their pre-match tweet back at that start of the season. What worries me is that if the game becomes scrappy we will lose our heads again. Worried we are becoming a petulant bunch looking for excuses. We lost to Leeds we couldn’t defend or score. Yes some decisions are not going our way but we have got to be a lot better. Nervous about this one
Got a really bad feeling about this based on what’s at stake plus our misfiring attack. C’mon lads prove me wrong.
It wont be dull, even if it is low scoring.
Forest are also having a bad run and are bottom of the last six matches form table. Two draws from the last six. We are third from bottom with a win and a draw. This could go any way but yet again I hope for us to play with commitment and passion for 90 minutes.
I desperately hope your prediction is correct Sandwich.
I want to wake up on Sunday with the afterglow that follows a victory.
However, in regard to your last phrase, good luck with that.
Disappointed …depressed ….. I answered my consultant following his state of mind enquiry at the annual post treatment meeting
“Can you put your finger on the trigger for this?….”
I follow Wolves doctor
He shrugged and smiled and asked if I should give so much emotion to an event that I had no control
He wasn’t a fan of the game save the World Cup but that’s how it is if you are
It’s been a year and the aforementioned emotions are still prevalent since Bruno s games at the end of his tenure … shafts of light periodically burst through the leaded skies only to be extinguished ….optimism and positivity flowing from a win over a cock sure foe is shovelled into the furnace of melancholy far too often
The consultant was right but my grandfather put me on a fold up wooden seat in the Waterloo Road in 1969 I think it may have been earlier and a Wolves fan albeit depressed and disappointed was created
The bloody golf course is closed too
Alan Alexander Milne wrote a character into his children’s books with the malaises of life ….. could do with a tigger right now though
As the motto says OODCL….. let’s raise a glass to that shaft of light come 4.45 today
Starting to feel a little apprehensive about what the season may hold for us.
Not a “must win” but would be nice if we did win.
Big test for the JLO revolution today. They are like Leeds, spirited with flashes of talent but ultimately badly flawed. We have to prove our superior overall quality.
It’s time for a dominant turn from Neves, Lamina and Mouts/Nunes and for Neto, Adama and Cunha to show they are the real deal with a goal each and put the young pretenders to bed. And at the back we should see the talented Hugo and Max shine with the experience of Dawson and Samedo.
On paper it certainly looks great but it’s time now to write the script for the season’s end.
No idea how they will play as usual.
Like many others here I’m hoping we show fight, passion and resilience. And we drop the histrionics, “looking for the foul”, playing across the back, etc and just attack with purpose.
I’m predicting a draw but hoping for a win, particularly as it will upset a nasty group of Forest fans who thoug6it was ok to intimidate two middle-aged women on a crowded train to New Street after we beat them at Molineux.
The Mighty Wolves to come through this one with heads held high.
I watched Lopetegui on Central News last night and noticed he was not his usual clean shaven self. In fact I thought he had the look Nuno had in his last days at Wolves.
Is the strain of the Premier League management getting to him?
Prediction wise, I haven’t got a clue with this group of players.
We’re overdue a bit of luck so I’ll take a controversial penalty decision our way to sneak a win
I don’t care who plays as long as they show passion and commitment and a willingness to play some more direct attacking football. UTW
Could go either way.
Almost time. Nervous, very nervous. Dare we hope?