Wolverhampton Wanderers came away with a massive three points against Bristol City after they registered a 2-1 win over the second placed team. The result now has placed Wolves firmly on course for the Championship title with a ten point gap now open between them and second-placed Derby County.
With 58 points from after 25 game weeks, the team from Molineux Stadium has entered the New Year at the summit of the table. Wolves will be buoyed by the fact that the last 12 teams to enter the New Year at the top, have all gone on to secure automatic promotion.
Their win over Bristol City saw them stop Bristol’s six matches unbeaten run. Wolves have been the most successful side at home this season in the Championship after collecting 29 points from their 12 games on the road.
With so many numerical facts and figures to be wary of, Wolves will be looking to produce another fine display of football to tighten their spot at the top and leave no chance for the chasing pack. With teams aiming to gun down Wolverhampton Wanderers, the Wolves manager Nuno Espírito Santo has launched a strong discontent over such an alliance.
“We are a team in the competition, we are not fighting against anybody. We are competing in each game., he said.
“The kind of things that have been said like ‘let’s beat Wolves to help the competition’ doesn’t help the game.
“We are not fighting against each other so let’s stop with these things.
“Manager’s should worry about who they’re going to face and not the competition as a whole.”
Here is how he will look to line up his team for the first clash of the New Year.
Formation: 3-4-3
Defence
John Ruddy can be expected in goal for the match. The defensive three is likely to consist of on-loan player Willy Boly, Ryan Bennett and Conor Coady with captain Danny Batth red carded the last time out.
Midfield
A midfield quartet of Matt Doherty, Barry Douglas, Saïss and Ruben Neves can be expected to fill up the middle of the park for Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Attack
Top scorer Leo Bonatini who already has 12 goals this season and was taken off in the first half against Bristol City will be restored to the line-up. He will be supported by star performer Diogo Jota who also has entered the double digits for the season with 10 goals to his kitty. Helder Costa is expected to be the third attacker on the night.
