#1 Friday Night Lights
Wolves head to the capital for the first time since October for a date under the Craven Cottage lights against Fulham, in what will be the club’s first Friday fixture of the 2022/23 season. The last time Wolves played on a Friday night was at Newcastle United last season, where the Magpies earned a narrow 1-0 win. After tomorrow evening’s match, Wolves will need just a Thursday game to complete the set of playing on each day of the week this term, but Julen Lopetegui’s men will be boosted by their record of playing on a weekday evening so far this campaign.
From their nine non-weekend fixtures since August 2022, Wolves have lost just twice in 90 minutes, while winning four of those matches. The first of those being the 2-1 win at home to Preston North End in the Carabao Cup in early August before their most recent midweek clash ended in more disappointing circumstances – a 1-0 loss at home to Liverpool which saw the Reds progress in the FA Cup. But that loss was the only midweek defeat (inside 90 minutes) that Lopetegui has proceeded over, with Wolves beating Gillingham and Everton as well as earning a point at Villa Park when not playing on a weekend.
#2 Capital challenge
During the previously aforementioned October, Wolves spent more than double their time on the pitch that month in London than they did in Wolverhampton – but it’s been a difficult challenge for the side to turn those trips into points so far this season. Between two home games against Leicester City and Nottingham Forest, the old gold travelled to the capital on four occasions, earning just a single point as they closed the month at Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium after falling to defeat at the London Stadium, Stamford Bridge and Selhurst Park.
This record is a long way from the stunning run Wolves were on in the capital when they were first promoted back to the top-flight in the summer of 2018. Before Covid-19 interrupted football in March of 2020, the men in gold and black went on a run of nine matches unbeaten in London, including their final away match before the pandemic – a 3-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur. Wolves’ first game back after the Premier League restart was against West Ham at the London Stadium, which saw Nuno Espirito Santo’s side pick up a 2-0 win, but the unbeaten capital run came to an end on the final day of the 2019/20 season in a 2-0 loss at Chelsea.
Getting set for Friday.
— Wolves (@Wolves) February 22, 2023
⚽️👑 pic.twitter.com/K5I7oYboU4
#3 Added options in midfield
Lopetegui saw his midfield boosted further this week with the return of Mario Lemina – who will be hoping to face his former club on Friday night – from suspension, while Boubacar Traore was also back on the Compton Park grass having been absent since suffering a groin injury while working hard in Wolves’ mid-season training camp in Marbella, meaning he’s yet to feature in a competitive fixture under the Spaniard. Traore was an almost constant present under interim boss Steve Davis, which saw the Mali international find the back of the net for the first time in gold and black to help the team progress past Leeds United in the Carabao Cup but has not had the chance to impress his new gaffer since he took charge. However, question marks remain whether Friday night will be too early for Traore to be back among the 20 players who will make up the squad in London.
Wolves’ defeat against the Cherries at Molineux on Saturday came without fellow midfielder Lemina, who was serving a one-match ban following his controversial dismissal at St Mary’s Stadium the previous weekend. Although the sending off might not have negatively affected the result against Southampton – with Wolves able to fight back from a goal and a man down to earn victory, it could be argued that his absence was felt greater against Bournemouth. Lemina’s return to selection will be warmly welcomed on Friday night as he heads back to his former team, having made 28 Premier League appearances for the Cottagers back in 2020/21.
#4 Fulham looking towards Europe
With Marco Silva at the helm, Fulham have gone from a side who flip-flopped between the Premier League and Championship – and were bookies favourite for relegation at the start of the season – to a team who are looking at qualifying for Europe as one of the best six clubs in the top-flight. Although the Cottagers didn’t make the most thrilling starts to this campaign – thanks to four losses from their opening nine matches, they have been one of the form teams since the league restarted following the mid-season break for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Silva’s side earned four consecutive league wins on their return from the pause – as well as a place in the fifth round of the FA Cup – earning victories over Crystal Palace, Southampton, Leicester City and Chelsea, and although they fell to defeats against Newcastle and Spurs, before a draw to the Blues, Fulham got back on track by picking up three points against two other form sides, Forest and Brighton, in recent weeks. Fulham’s greatest ever season saw them finish seventh in the Premier League back in 2008/09, where they accumulated an average of 1.4 points per game. This campaign, they are already on course to beat that record, with their 38 points from 24 matches so far (an average of just shy of 1.6 ppg) seeing them currently standing sixth.
