Two of English football’s most traditional teams go head to head in an old-school Saturday 3pm kick-off as we tackle Wolves aiming to utilise the momentum gained from our midweek Champions League success.
Three goals and three points against Dinamo Zagreb was just the tonic to get us back on track after our draw against Aston Villa last weekend, which did see us extend our unbeaten run to 11 league matches stretching back to November.
Such a run would be sweet relief by our relegation-threatened opponents, who after tasting three straight league defeats won’t relish a fixture against a side they’ve lost seven on the bounce to by an aggregate scoreline of 16-2. However, Vitor Pereira has inspired excellent performances since his recent appointment, ensuring history won’t matter too much in the latest chapter of this old rivalry.
Pereira’s pick-up stalls
Only goal difference is keeping Wolves out of the bottom three heading into this weekend, having recorded just four league wins all campaign. Gary O’Neil went winless in his first 10 matches and despite a brief revival in October and November, four straight losses prompted the move to bring in the experienced Periera just over a month ago.
A new manager bounce saw the Portuguese match O’Neil’s seven-point haul in just three matches courtesy of wins against Leicester City and Manchester United and a draw against Tottenham Hotspur, but three defeats on the spin against Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United and Chelsea have burst that bubble.
Three goals were conceded in each of those defeats, and while FA Cup progress was made at Bristol City earlier this month, they have lost 11 of their last 15 home Premier League games, keeping just two clean sheets in that time.
What the managers say
Arteta: “I think we are a much better side than since the start of the season, in every sense because we have evolved a lot as a team. We’ve had some very important experiences and the way we have competed throughout the last six or seven months with everything that has happened, it’s outstanding.
“I know Vitor very well from previous clubs as well and what his ideas are, and it’s very clear how he sets up his team. He has had a really good impact on the team, and it will be a really tough match tomorrow.”
Pereira: “I believe in my players. I believe in our work. I have confidence. Of course, we are facing very strong teams, but we’re still together. We still believe and tomorrow we'll play at our best level. I want my team to play in the way that we should play. The last game, in my opinion, was not a good game from us because we changed a lot of our behaviours, and this is not what I want from my team. I want identity. I want us to try to play in our way, not to react to the other team.
“Against Arsenal we must show tactical maturity, because they are strong, for sure. But I have confidence in my players. I have confidence in our work. We are working to improve our game. We don't have a lot of time to do it, but we are trying to do this."
Team news
Myles Lewis-Skelly and William Saliba are close to returning after their recent injuries, but it’s touch-and-go as to whether they will feature in the West Midlands.
Ben White continues to be out of contention but he is making good progress from a knee injury, while Bukayo Saka and Takehiro Tomiyasu remained sidelined for the foreseeable future.
It remains to be seen if Mario Lemina will feature after he was dropped from the squad for Monday’s 2-1 loss at Chelsea after refusing to play against Newcastle United amidst reports of transfer interest from Saudi Arabia, and Periera has indicated he may not select the former club captain whilst the window is open.
Toti Gomes has missed the last four matches with a hamstring issue but could be ready to return against us. Boubacar Traore is back in training after knee surgery, but Edson Medina, Yerson Mosquera, Sasa Kalajdzic and Enso Gonzalez are out longer term with the same problem. Ivorian defender Emmanuel Agbadou, who signed from Reims for £16.6 million, will make his Molineux debut.
TALKING TACTICS
Adrian Clarke: Pereira likes to use a 3-4-2-1 formation and will frequently settle back into a defensive 5-4-1 out of possession against a side of our quality. Averaging less than 40% of the ball in recent matches against Chelsea and Newcastle United, the pattern is likely to see us trying to break them down a low block.
When Wolves do have possession and their wing-backs push on high and wide, we must be wary of those pockets of space they create on the inside. These are the areas where they want to get key man Matheus Cunha onto the ball. Only four top-flight players have attempted more shots than him (63) with 29 of those attempts from outside the box, scoring with four of those which makes him the division’s leading scorer from 18+ yards alongside Cole Palmer. Closing him down anywhere inside the final third will be imperative.
Two other dangermen we must contain are left wing-back Rayan Ait-Nouri and striker Jorgen Strand Larsen. Ait-Nouri is skilful and able to produce moments of great imagination, while their centre forward is energetic and keen not to give his markers a moment’s peace.
Wolves have been slow to get going this season, letting in nine goals in the opening 15 minutes – the most of any Premier League side. Losing 11 of the 15 matches where they conceded the opening goal, there is plenty of incentive for us to test their defensive capabilities early on.
Facts and stats
We have won eight of our 10 Premier League away games against Wolves, our highest win rate against any side we’ve faced more than five times on the road in the competition.
We have scored in each of our last 34 meetings with Wolves in all competitions, since a 1-0 home loss in February 1979. It’s both our longest scoring streak against an opponent, and Wolves’ longest run without a clean sheet.
Wolves have lost 18 of their last 20 Premier League games against sides in the top two of the table.
Only Liverpool (17) are on a longer current unbeaten run in the Premier League than us (12).
We have scored more goals from crosses than any other side in the Premier League this season (11), while Wolves have conceded the most (10).
Leandro Trossard has been involved in more goals against Wolves in the competition than he has against any other opponent (8 – 2 goals, 6 assists). His six Premier League assists against them are more than any other player in the competition’s history.
Matheus Cunha has 15 goal involvements in his last 18 Premier League starts at Molineux (7 goals, 8 assists), including three goals and three assists in his last five home starts.
Martin Odegaard has scored more Premier League goals against Wolves (4) than he has against any other side, netting our second in this exact fixture last term.
Match officials
For the fourth time this season, one of our games will be presided over by Michael Oliver, with us taking five points from encounters against Aston Villa, Manchester City and Chelsea. Those results extended our run to one loss in our last nine matches under his watch.
Wolves meanwhile have only won six of 25 that Oliver has officiated, and none of the last four. The only one this season was a 2-2 draw at Brighton in November, while this is the third time the Ashington-based referee has been handed this exact fixture, following our Molineux wins in 2020 and 2022.
Referee: Michael Oliver
Assistants: Stuart Burt, James Mainwaring
Fourth official: Tony Harrington
VAR: Darren England
Assistant VAR: Adrian Holmes
Recent visits to Wolves
Molineux has been a happy hunting ground for us in the Premier League era, having won eight of our last 10 visits there, including each of the last three without conceding a single goal.
Last season saw us triumph 2-0 thanks to strikes from Leandro Trossard and Martin Odegaard to keep us in the title hunt, while the campaign before our Norwegian skipper grabbed a brace to send us to the top of the table ahead of the 2022 World Cup break.
The season before saw us claim a 1-0 win thanks to a goal from Gabriel, despite the sending off of Gabriel Martinelli for two quickfire bookable offences, while Wolves’ last success came in 2020/21 when we saw both David Luiz and Bernd Leno red-carded.
Live coverage
Tune into Live From N5 just before kick-off to hear live commentary of the game provided by Dan Roebuck and Adrian Clarke, who will guide you through all the action if you’re out and about.
You can also find out which broadcasters are showing the game live wherever you are in the world.
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