EPL Wolverhampton VS Fulham – Preview & Prediction
Fulham plays Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux on Saturday to build on their fantastic draw with Liverpool the previous weekend. Wolves come into their opening home game of the 2022/23 Premier League season eager to get revenge for a disastrous defeat at Leeds United. The fact that Wolves and Bruno Lage lost at Elland Road is not shocking since it would never be ideal for them to play their first competitive game with a new system away against Leeds.
The unfortunate part is that Wolves performed excellently during the encounter in Yorkshire before conceding a goal that allowed their hosts to draw the game. Lage must now take precautions to prevent it from happening regularly, especially in the season’s opening month when the Wolves have a more favorable schedule than other clubs.
Wolves will be hoping to win several games, including the one on Saturday against the champions of the previous season’s Championship. The only other match is the trip to Tottenham Hotspur the following week. Conor Coady’s departure and the signing of Valencia winger Goncalo Guedes have not yet been determined to impact this team. Wolves must become more brutal at both ends of the field to succeed.
The supporters of Fulham would have been concerned about a landslide defeat when it was announced that they would play Liverpool to begin their first season back in the top league.
The fact that Fulham’s head coach Marco Silva praised his team’s effort while Jurgen Klopp voiced displeasure with his group shows that Fulham still managed to earn a point. Joao Palhinha’s consistency in the middle of the field will make it possible for the Portuguese to create that type of performance from his teammates consistently.
Team Analysis
Wolverhampton
Wolves have placed second in the FA Cup and won the competition four times, the last being in the 60′. The team has also finished first in all four levels of the English professional game and won the League Cup twice.
Wolves organized televised “floodlit friendlies” against top international club teams between 1953 and 1956. These matches were crucial in the 1955 launch of the European Cup (now known as the UEFA Champions League). In 1959–60, Wolves advanced to the competition’s quarterfinals; in 1960–61, they went to the semifinals of the European Cup Winners’ Cup; and in 1972, they participated in the first-ever UEFA Cup Final. They returned to European play in 2020 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Europa League after a 39-year hiatus.
Fulham
Fulham has been in two major championship games, losing both times—2-0 to West Ham United in the FA Cup Final in 1975 and 2-1 to Atlético Madrid in the UEFA Europa League Final in 2010.
Following their devastating 2-1 away loss to Leeds United on an opening day last Saturday, the Wolves lost all eight games in the top division, including no less than six losses. Bruno Lage, the manager of Wolves, will face increasing pressure to help his team advance this season despite a reasonably satisfactory mid-table finish in 10th place last term. However, after losing to Brighton and Manchester City at home and being held to a 1-1 draw by Norwich City in the final few weeks of last season, the hosts know they cannot afford another sluggish start to this campaign.
In the form of guests Fulham, Wolves will like their chances against the newcomers on Saturday. However, the hosts are anticipated to be without their leading scorer from the previous season, striker Jimenez, and other forwards like Chiquinho and Semedo.
Even though Jimenez was Wolves’ top scorer last season, the west midlands club still struggled to find the back of the net after the previous striker Diogo Jota left for Liverpool. Jimenez only managed to score six goals.
Fulham’s visitors will be encouraged by their well-earned point against Liverpool in their season-opening match at Craven Cottage last Saturday, where they held The Reds to a 2-2 draw to give the London club a positive beginning to the Premier League. Aleksandar Mitrovic, Fulham’s star up front, scored a brace for Fulham last week, adding to his incredible 43 goals in the Championship the previous season, which were essential to Fulham’s promotion.
Despite that draw, the Cottagers have gone 11 games in the top tier without a victory. They will be anxious to create an excellent first impression in the first weeks of this new Premier League season as they urgently try to maintain their top-flight position this time.
The midfield pairing of Harry Wilson and Nathaniel Chalobah for Fulham appear to be out due to injury. Still, besides that, manager Marco Silva has no other injury concerns now. Given Mitrovic’s early goal-scoring prowess and creative midfielder Tom Cairney, the visitors have a good chance of returning home with something from their trip to Molineux. Last season, the Wolves struggled to score goals. On the other hand, Fulham might benefit from Mitrovic’s early-season form.
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