Wolverhampton Wanderers welcome West Ham United to Molineux in the Premier League on Wednesday night for what promises to be a competitive affair.
The home side have enjoyed an impressive start to the season, while West Ham will be buoyed by a shock 1-0 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Match preview
© Reuters
The main question for Wolves heading into this season revolved around whether they could maintain the same level of performance in the Premier League whilst also competing in Europe.
After 14 Premier League fixtures and 11 games in the Europa League, Nuno Espirito Santo's men have emphatically confirmed that they can indeed handle the increased workload.
The Midlands side sit happily in sixth place in the league, their record almost perfectly mirroring their achievements of last season, and have qualified for the knockout phases of the Europa League.
Specifically, Wolves have managed to maintain two crucial aspects of their success: an imperious home record and an aggressive, unified counter-attacking approach capable of hurting any team.
With just one home league defeat all season, Wolves head into this game with their confidence through the roof, but face potentially tricky opponents in West Ham.
© Reuters
Heading into the game with Chelsea, West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini was in genuine trouble following a run of eight games without a victory.
Such a dip in form felt even more significant considering that West Ham began the 2019-20 campaign with a six-game unbeaten run, including a 2-0 victory over Manchester United.
Against their London rivals, however, West Ham's players rediscovered a sense of rhythm and unified solidity at Stamford Bridge, playing at a significantly improved intensity.
Indeed, such has often been the case for the Irons: sometimes inexplicably listless, sometimes playing like a team capable of beating any Premier League side.
As they prepare for a tricky game against Wolves, Pellegrini's men will know that maintaining a particular level of intensity for 90 minutes is absolutely essential if they are to get anything out of the game.
Recent Wolverhampton Wanderers form: DWWWDD
Recent West Ham United form: LDLLLW
Team News
© Reuters
Ryan Bennett could return from a groin strain in time for this game, although Willy Boly and Morgan Gibbs-White are definitely out due to respective ankle and back problems.
For West Ham, Manuel Lanzini is likely to miss out on the rest of 2019 after suffering a shoulder injury.
Goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski will also be unavailable until the end of December having sustained a thigh problem last month.
Jack Wilshere and Winston Reid are approaching returns to action, although the game at Molineux comes too soon for the pair.
Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Patricio; Dendoncker, Coady, Saiss; Doherty, Castro, Neves, Moutinho; Jota, Traore, Jimenez
West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Martin; Fredericks, Balbuena, Ogbonna, Cresswell; Noble, Rice, Yarmolenko, Snodgrass; Anderson, Haller
We say: Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 West Ham United
Despite a spirited performance away from home on Saturday, we expect that West Ham will come up second best against a remarkably disciplined team whose excellent home record cannot be ignored. A scrappy affair, with Wolves possessing greater final product, will eventually see the hosts claim all three points.
No Data Analysis info
