A return to form back at Molineux is the target this weekend as Sheffield United visit and wolves.co.uk presents the main talking points ahead of kick-off.
#1 Inside both camps
Matheus Cunha is expected to be Wolves’ only absentee for the visit of the Blades. According to head coach Gary O’Neil, the Brazilian is progressing better than expected, but he looks set to be out of action until after the international break still. O’Neil may well opt for an unchanged side to the one which beat Tottenham Hotspur. Other options are in the form of Tommy Doyle in midfield, after he made his full Premier League debut in November against Sheff United, the club he spent last season on loan at. Nathan Fraser is vying for a full Premier League debut himself and is now a regular in O’Neil’s matchday squad. Noha Lemina was in the travelling squad in North London and is hoping to be called upon by O’Neil soon.
Chris Wilder was giving nothing away in Friday’s press conference, but says there had been “progression” on some players returning to fitness, after Cameron Archer, Ben Brereton Diaz and Sam Baldock missing last week’s defeat. Brereton Diaz has missed the last two games with a hamstring injury and Oli McBurnie was only fit enough for a place on the bench, but both will hope to return on Sunday. Recently, Max Lowe and Rhys Norrington-Davies were ruled out for the season, joining long-term absentees John Egan and Chris Basham. Mason Holgate was sent off against Brighton, so begins his suspension at the weekend.
The Rayan megs, followed by the Toti laugh 🤌 pic.twitter.com/vtMPRc6NwN
— Wolves (@Wolves) February 23, 2024
#2 Coming into it
Wolves’ form table has flipped in recent weeks, with results at Molineux falling away as points have been picked up on the road. The Old Gold are unbeaten in six away from home across all competitions but have lost their last two at Molineux. Both were by fine margins however, with Manchester United scoring at the death and Craig Dawson straying just offside before his disallowed equaliser against Brentford. Prior to that run, Wolves had avoided defeat in their previous nine at home and will target a return to form on Saturday.
Wolves’ last three | W 2-1 Tottenham (A) – L 2-0 Brentford (H) – W 4-2 Chelsea (A)
Sheff United’s recent form is also mixed. They come into the contest on the back of a 5-0 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion last weekend, which wasn’t helped by Holgate’s red card at 0-0. Their last away day actually brought their first away success of the campaign, with Wilder’s side winning 3-1 at Luton Town, despite the hosts having 75 per cent of the ball. Prior to Luton, the Blades had drawn two and lost nine of their away games.
Sheff United’s last three | L 5-0 Brighton (H) – W 3-1 Luton (A) – L 5-0 Aston Villa (H)
#3 Since last time
Sheff United 2 Wolves 1 | 4th November 2023
A rare difficult afternoon this season came at Bramall Lane for Wolves. Having not taken advantage of a dominant first half, Wolves fell behind after the break to a Cameron Archer goal on the break. Jean-Ricner Bellegarde levelled things up with his first goal for the club a minute from time, but Oliver Norwood’s last-gasp penalty won it for the hosts, after Fabio Silva had been penalised.
Wolves’ XI | Sa, Semedo, Kilman, Dawson, Toti, Ait-Nouri, Lemina, Doyle, Hwang, Cunha, Kalajdzic.
Wolves’ eleven at Spurs doesn’t look all that different to that afternoon in South Yorkshire. Sasa Kalajdzic has since departed on loan and, unfortunately, returned with a knee injury. Silva came off the bench and is now out on loan at Rangers. For the Blades, Luke Thomas started on the left, but in January swapped loan club to Middlesbrough in the Championship.
Sheff United XI | Foderingham, Bogle, Baldock, Trusty, Robinson, Thomas, Souza, Norwood, Hamer, Brewster, Archer.
#4 In the media
On Match of the Day on Saturday evening, pundit Danny Murphy, a former midfielder himself, piled praise on Joao Gomes and Mario Lemina for their performances in the capital.
Murphy said: “They set the tone. Absolutely terrific. They’ve got a nice partnership going. Dealing with Maddison, Sarr and Bissouma, I thought they might get outnumbered, but with the amount of work they put in and energy, they worked well together. They get back in and fill holes, and with the ball they’ve got belief, great technical ability. They know Tottenham like to play out, so therefore are brave, and as soon as they get the ball back, they get their transition with the pace of Neto and Hwang up front.
“The defensive work in midfield is something which goes unnoticed but you can’t win football matches in the Premier League unless your midfield do the hard yards and the dirty bits, and they did it brilliantly. The pair of them were outstanding.”
Match of the Day 2 pundit duo Alan Shearer and Leon Osman spoke on Sunday’s episode after Sheff United’s defeat to Brighton, and both pointed to the goals conceded as the primary area for concern.
Shearer said: “You know as a team going against that team that you’re going to create chances and it’s whether you’re going to take the chances. If you do, more often than not you’re going to beat this Sheff United team. I know he plays with a three at the back to try and shore it up, to try to get more protection in and around other players, but they’re so open it’s unbelievable. They’ve conceded the most and don’t score many, which is a recipe for disaster.”
Osman said: “Since he’s [Wilder] come in, it’s been difficult, he’s had to try and get something from the game and maybe left them exposed. The stats speak for themselves, in 13 top flight home games, that’s the third most amount of goals ever.”
