Off the back of a morale-boosting victory in the Premier League, Wolves turn their attention to the Emirates FA Cup and a visit to Championship outfit Blackburn Rovers on Sunday and wolves.co.uk has assessed what lies in wait for the Old Gold.
1 | Roll Call
Sunday offers Vitor Pereira the chance to rotate his squad, and the head coach said on Friday that he will name a strong team - albeit with some changes - to ensure the momentum the team gained from their win against Aston Villa is carried into the visit to Liverpool next weekend. Joao Gomes could return following his suspension, while Sam Johnstone could take Jose Sa’s place in between the sticks, as he did in the third round. Both teams could hand out debuts to deadline day signings on Sunday, with Wolves’ new defender Nasser Djiga and midfielder Marshall Munetsi available for selection although Pereira revealed the pair are unlikely to start the match, while John Eustace brought Yuri Ribeiro, Emmanuel Dennis and Cauley Woodrow into his Rovers squad before the window shut.
Three former Wolves players – including two who came right the way through the academy – could feature in the cup on Sunday afternoon, as defenders Danny Batth and Dion Sanderson as well as forward Andreas Weimann all now ply their trade at Ewood Park. Ex-captain Batth, from Brierley Hill, spent almost 20 years of his career in Old Gold having joined the academy as a child, while Wednesfield-born Sanderson left the club in 2023 after signing for the academy as an eight-year-old. While Weimann – Blackburn’s top scorer so far this season – is well known for his FA Cup exploits in gold and black, scoring the famous fourth round winner against Liverpool at Anfield back in January 2017 after Richard Stearman had given Paul Lambert’s side the lead inside the opening 60 seconds.
2 | The Stat Pack
Goals
- Matheus Cunha | 11
- Andreas Weimann | 8
Assists
- Goncalo Guedes | 5
- Makhtar Gueye | 6
Biggest win
- Leicester City 0-3 Wolves | December 2024
- Stockport County 1-6 Blackburn Rovers | August 2024
Cards
- Joao Gomes | 7
- Tyrhys Dolan | 7
Clean sheets
- Jose Sa | 4
- Aynsley Pears | 11
Joao back available for the weekend 🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/nSvCIGjyWt
— Wolves (@Wolves) February 6, 2025
3 | Journey to Sunday
The Old Gold go into Sunday’s game high in confidence after picking up a well-deserved three points against local rivals Aston Villa at Molineux – ending a run of four consecutive defeats in the Premier League. Wolves’ one win in January came in the FA Cup as Pereira’s side overcame the challenge of another Championship side away from home, thanks to a 2-1 win against Bristol City at Ashton Gate. Although Wolves had fallen to Newcastle United and Chelsea in the league, performances were improved two weeks ago in a narrow loss against Arsenal, before bouncing back last time out to kick off February with an outstanding team showing against Villa.
Since their 1-0 third round triumph away at Middlesbrough, Blackburn have had a difficult time in the Championship with just two wins and four defeats from their six outings. The wins both came at Ewood Park as they took down Portsmouth and Preston North End, before a home defeat to Coventry City came in the middle of losses to Oxford United as well as Bristol City before falling to Queen Park Rangers on Tuesday night. However, despite their recent results, Eustace’s side are still sitting pretty in the Championship standings, currently lying inside the play-off positions.
4 | FA Cup final joy for the Old Gold
To find the last time Wolves and Blackburn went head-to-head in the FA Cup, you have to go all the way back six decades and to the final of the 1960 edition. That afternoon at Wembley saw Wolves lift the trophy for the fourth time in the club’s history after putting in a dominant display to secure a 3-0 victory. After a Mick McGrath own goal before the break, Norman Deeley hit a second half brace to put the game beyond doubt against a Rovers side who – in the days before substitutes – had been forced to play with 10-men following injury to defender Dave Whelan.
Wolves | Finlayson, Showell, Flowers, Harris, Clamp, Slater, Horne, Deeley, Murray, Stobart, Broadbent.
Blackburn | Leyland, Clayton, Bray, Whelan, Woods, McGrath, Bimpson, Dougan, Douglas, MacLeod, Dobing.
