Wolves vs Brentford Preview
Watch Wolves Vs Brentford preview as Wolves welcomes brentford in a premier league fixtures at Molineux stadium at today’s meetings.
Scoring a goal worthy of Frank Lampard‘s approval, Wolves’ marquee midfield signing Matheus Nunes has found consistency hard to come by at Molineux, but the Portugal international’s rocket was enough to spoil Lampard’s Chelsea homecoming.
With just over half an hour gone last Saturday, Nunes arrived in the right-hand side of the area and unleashed a thunderbolt of a half-volley across Kepa Arrizabalaga’s goal and into the back of the net, and a toothless Chelsea side could not come up with the required response.
By returning to winning ways after a dismal three-game victory-less run, Julen Lopetegui‘s side have opened up a four-point gap to the relegation zone in 13th place, but Wolves are not out of the woods yet as the chasing pack aim to close the gap in the coming weeks.
Since returning to domestic duties after the World Cup, Wolves have followed a specific pattern of results at Molineux – winning one then losing one across all tournaments – and such a streak is not a good omen for this weekend after their success over Chelsea.
However, all of West Ham United, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur have been sent back to London with no points from their trips to Molineux in 2023, and each of Wolves’ last eight home wins have been to nil, so the Bees would do well to bring their most potent sting to the West Midlands.
Team News and Injury
An afternoon that began with delight ended in despair for Wolves midfielder Nunes, who limped off in the dying embers with a “very strong” knock, but footage after the game showed the Portuguese appearing to walk unaided as normal.
Lopetegui remains without the suspended pair of Ruben Neves and Jonny Castro, while Sasa Kalajdzic and Chiquinho remain on the mend from long-term knee injuries, and Boubacar Traore will need a once-over as he bids to recover from a groin concern.
Should Nunes shake off his concern to make himself available, Lopetegui ought to see no need to make any alterations to the side that nullified Chelsea, but Adama Traore, Joao Moutinho and Pablo Sarabia will fight to cover for Nunes if needed.
Raul Jimenez and Rayan Ait-Nouri were both left out of the Wolves squad last weekend, but Lopetegui confirmed after the game that their absences were purely tactical.
As for Brentford, Kristoffer Ajer and Keane Lewis-Potter are unlikely to recover from calf and knee injuries respectively another couple of weeks, while Pontus Jansson is nursing a fresh thigh problem sustained in the loss to Newcastle and is expected to miss the rest of the season.
Out-of-favour midfielder Frank Onyeka was nowhere to be seen against the Magpies due to a thigh twinge, but he should be in with a strong chance of coming back here as Frank ponders a tactical change.
With Jansson on the sidelines, the Bees could revert to a four-man backline for the trip to Molineux, allowing Yoane Wissa to return up front alongside Bryan Mbeumo, who lost his place to Kevin Schade last weekend
Wolves vs Brentford head-to-head stats
Brentford have mustered just one win in their last seven league matches against Wolves. They’ve lost four and drawn two. The corresponding fixture in the first half of the season ended in a 1-1 draw at the GTech Community Stadium. Wolves and Brentford have never shared two draws in the same league season.
Wolves have four wins from their last six Premier League home games. That’s as many as they had in their previous 16. Brentford have lost their last two Premier League games. That’s as many as they had lost in their previous 19.
Wolves are yet to lose a Premier League game in which they’ve taken the lead under Julen Lopetegui. They’ve won six and drawn two of those eight games.
Wolves vs Brentford Prediction
It most certainly is a tough game to call. Wolves have done a good job at home under Lopetegui. Brentford, who looked like one of the most solid sides in the competition up until a few weeks ago, have looked vulnerable in their recent outings.
This could be a tightly contested affair, but we expect the Bees to eke out a narrow win here.
