Wolves fans will be hoping that Julen Lopetegui and his team can repeat the fine performance they put in against Chelsea last week, and gain another three points when Brentford come to Molineux today
It wasn't just the result which impressed fans last Saturday, but several other factors which led to a good result. Coach Lopetegui opted to play a 4-4-2 line-up with Costa and Cunha up front for the first time since the Spurs game. He also played Matheus Nunes on the right side of midfield instead of his usual left side. He brought Joao Gomes into midfield as a replacement for the suspended Ruben Neves and he had an excellent game alongside Mario Lemina. He showed faith in Toti Gomez by keeping him in at left back, and he hardly let Raheem Sterling have a kick of the ball. The energy and teamplay was also highly noticeable throughout the match.
Today's visitors have been lauded by many fans for having an excellent second season at the top level, when many thought they might struggle, and manager Thomas Franke has been recognised for his coaching and management skills. Wolves did well to come away with a draw from the G Tech stadium earlier this season after a typical Neves goal, but sadly the performance was marred by the sending off of Diego Costa, so they will be hoping to go one better today. Last season saw a very poor Wolves performance early in the season at Molineux, when Brentford took advantage of poor defending for their first goal, and a Toney penalty for the second after a ridiculous foul by Marcel, so the challenge is there for a far better outcome today.
JL has declared that there are no new injury doubts, whilst also addressing the issue of Raul Jimenez and Rayan Ait-Nouri's absence from the squad by simply saying they are working hard in training to try and regain their places!! He has also stated that, despite being charged by the FA over the 'spitting' débacle, Daniel Podence will again be available for selection. Ruben Neves and Jonny will serve the last match of their respective suspensions so will be unavailable.
Most fans would perhaps expect a hard fought match today against a well drilled and confident team, but Wolves will surely be buoyed by the knowledge that another three points today would help immensely in the charge away from the relegation group below them.
Today's game is scheduled to kick off at 3pm and will not be televised. Our referee will be the very competent Paul Tierney (who was excellent in our home game against Liverpool), whilst the referee who upset Brighton fans last week, Stuart Atwell, will be on VAR duty.
Subject to available resources, this board will endeavour to provide regular updates for today's match, whilst members and visitors are encouraged to post their own observations and join in the conversation.
I love your line about Wolves being buoyed knowing we need the 3 points to go a long way to secure (in this case) our league status - if I had a pound for every similar situation we’ve had down the years!!!!! And how many times have we fluffed lines! With Wolves anything is possible. I too remember that lacklustre effort v The Bees last season.
Nevertheless, I feel strangely confident of getting at least a point today. We a similar line up combined with the focused effort we saw last week, then why not? This Brentford side are ripe for their bubble to be burst!!!!
Lovely ball out to Nunes by CD but he pulls it back rather than putting into tha area & it’s lost. Costa almost gets a perfect pass across the area for Cunha but just too close to Raya, who has been busy so far. Da Silva goes in after a Toney effort & puts it over the bar.
Lovely ball out to Nunes by CD but he pulls it back rather than putting into tha area & it’s lost. Costa almost gets a perfect pass across the area for Cunha but just too close to Raya, who has been busy so far. Da Silva goes in after a Toney effort & puts it over the bar.
Corner to Wolves cleared and the whistle goes for half time, after a very good half for Wolves, playing some very attractive and effective football and making Raya by far the busier keeper. Costa in the right place to score his first goal for Wolves and it was superbly crafted by many members of the team from defence to attack.
Wolves 1 Brentford 0
Good stop by Raya from a Costa shot from the angle. Corner easily collected. Jensen pulls back Pablo’s shirt but no yellow card which would have been his second. Penalty claim for Wolves being looked at by Stuart Atwell in VAR
Heavy challenge by Adama penalised but free kick goes straight to Jose. Bueno ready to come on for a run out. Long range effort by Toney easily collected by Jose.
All over and an excellent win for Wolves over a team which has enjoyed real success this season. Wolves kept on top of them the whole game and restricted them to very few efforts. A really good, professional team performance by JL’s team and great to see Diego finally get his Wolves goal. Fabulous run by Nunes to make the second for Hwang. This result is encouraging as we prepare to face more teams above us, and create a good gap between us and the teams at the bottom. A bad day at the office for the Bees!
Wolves 2 Brentford 0
We will surely stay up now. Season over as there is no difference between 8th and 17th and we have nothing to play for. The placement prize money makes no real difference to any premier league club so see you next season gentlemen.
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