Wolves v Brighton preview: Visitors aim to pour misery on Molineux
The 1-1 draw to Brentford that followed that result did little to appease, but with ex-Spain manager Julen Lopetegui reportedly entering talks for the managerial position there might be reason for optimism for the relegation-threatened West Midlands outfit.
Interim manager Steve Davis praised an “excellent reaction” in that comeback draw, but with just six PL goals scored marking their worst return after 13 games played from any campaign this century, confidence could be low.
Opta now have Wolves as the fourth-likeliest team to be relegated this term, and to make matters worse, striker Diego Costa (34) saw his first-ever PL red card last time out with Davis hinting he may now have to try ‘’something different’’ with his selections here.
Any apprehension over new Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi dissipated somewhat after he oversaw his first triumph (D2, L3) last weekend when the Seagulls thumped Chelsea 4-1 for their 100th top-flight win.
The manager stated that the “fans were the best player” in Brighton’s first-ever PL victory over Chelsea, a match which also marked just the third time they’ve scored three first-half goals in a PL game.
Perhaps particularly impressive was the way De Zerbi handled mid-table Brighton’s growing injury list, as he reminisced on similar struggles at Shakhtar Donetsk prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine stating “I had a great team that Putin decided to take away”.
Brighton will need to go again however, as they are currently winless in four PL away games (D1, L3), whilst conceding at least twice on each occasion, meaning even a struggling Wolves may smell blood in a leaky backline.
Key battle: With four of Wolves’ last five PL victories coming ‘to nil’, they’ll look towards ‘keeper José Sá (29) to guide them to victory.
He’ll face Brighton’s in-form Leandro Trossard (27) who became the first-ever player to score the first five PL goals of a new manager's reign last time out and netted past Sá in the last H2H meeting here (3-0).
Hot stat: Trossard (seven) has more goals than Wolves (six) this PL campaign!
