Wolves are aiming to bounce back from three defeats on the bonce when they face fellow strugglers Ipswich Town at Molineux on Saturday afternoon, and wolves.co.uk is here to preview the first ever Premier League meeting of the sides.
1 | Roll Call
Wolves go into Saturday’s clash with the Tractor Boys without several players either through injury or suspension. Having started every Premier League match so far this season, Joao Gomes will be sitting this one out as the midfielder picked up his fifth booking of the campaign in Monday evening’s defeat to West Ham United. Gary O'Neil confirmed goalkeeper Jose Sa and forward Pablo Sarabia will also miss the match after the pair were both absent for the visit to east London earlier in the week. The head coach will also have four long term absentees not back for this weekend, as Yerson Mosquera, Sasa Kalajdzic, Enzo Gonzalez and Bouba Traore remain out of action due to various knee injuries. There will also be a new captain leading the team out on Saturday, as Nelson Semedo takes on the armband from Mario Lemina.
Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna has three players who are definitely set to miss the trip to Molineux this weekend, with long-term absentees Chiedozie Ogbene (Achilles), Axel Tuanzebe (hamstring) and George Hirst (knee) still on the sidelines. Although the manager admitted there were no new significant injuries inside his camp, he did reveal during his pre-match press conference on Thursday that there has been a spate of illness involving two unnamed players. McKenna also stated Kalvin Phillips and Ben Johnson are still not quite fully fit after knocks but are expected to be involved in the squad.
2 | The Stat Pack
Goals
- Matheus Cunha | 7
- Liam Delap | 6
Assists
- Jorgen Strand Larsen | 3
- Leif Davis | 2
Biggest win
- Fulham 1-4 Wolves | November 2024
- Tottenham 1-2 Ipswich | November 2024
Cards
- Joao Gomes | 5
- Liam Delap | 5
Clean sheets
- Jose Sa | 1
- Arijanet Muric | 1
3 | Journey to Saturday
After a stellar four weeks which saw Wolves go four games unbeaten, O’Neil’s team have crashed back down to earth with a bump following a three-game winless run against teams around them in the Premier League standings. Following the jubilant scenes at Craven Cottage in late November, Wolves have conceded eight times in three outings, while only scoring three of their own, to fall to defeats against AFC Bournemouth, Everton and West Ham United, with the most recent on Monday night once again shrouded in VAR controversy. Matt Doherty thought he had done enough to get a point for the Old Gold after cancelling out Tomas Soucek’s headed opener – the 15th set-piece goal Wolves have conceded so far this season – but Jarrod Bowen notched the winner moments later.
Ipswich arrive at Molineux level on points with Wolves but sit one place above them in the Premier League table due to having conceded 11 fewer goals than Saturday’s hosts. Similarly to Wolves, the Tractor Boys experienced their best spell of the season so far last month, after earning five points from three matches, thanks to home draws with Leicester City and Manchester United and a thrilling win over Tottenham Hotspur in north London. McKenna’s men have also fallen to defeat in their last three games, going down 1-0 to Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace, while last time out, a 97th minute winner saw Bournemouth take all three points.
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— Wolves (@Wolves) December 10, 2024
4 | Last time at Molineux
Wolves and Ipswich and have never played each other in the Premier League, with the Tractor Boys’ previous jaunt in the top flight more than 20 years ago coming before the Old Gold’s resurgence. However, the two teams have faced off multiple times in the second tier, with the most recent at Molineux coming back in December 2017 when Nuno’s side claimed a 1-0 win thanks to Ivan Cavaleiro’s strike. Kevin Bru almost levelled for Ipswich when his curling effort towards the far corner was saved by John Ruddy, while Wolves could have put the game beyond doubt when Ruben Neves picked out Romain Saiss, but the Moroccan nodded just wide – however, it mattered not for Wolves who moved seven points clear at the top of the Championship thanks to the victory.
Wolves | Ruddy, Bennett, Coady, Boly, Doherty, Saiss, Neves, Douglas, Cavaleiro (Enobakhare 66), Bonatini (Costa 78), Jota (N’Diaye 88).
Ipswich | Bialkowski, Spence, Chambers, Webster, Kenlock, Connolly, Bru (Bishop 66), Ward, Celina, Waghorn (McGoldrick 72), Garner (Sears 78).
