Championship leaders, Wolverhampton Wanderers, are due to host Burton Albion on Saturday at the Molinuex Stadium. The Wolves have been sporadic in their endeavours of late but are still the favourites to clinch the Championship title and earn an automatic qualification to the Premier League.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side engineered a comfortable 3-0 win over Reading in the midweek and would be aiming to strengthen their grip on the top of the league table with a win over the Brewers. Here are the latest team news of the Wolves and how we expect them to start against Nigel Clough’s men.
Team News
Diogo Jota required assistance to come off the pitch against Reading in the first half as he was unable to apply pressure on his right foot. He is expected to be sidelined for the upcoming game but apart from that, Wolves have no suspension or injury news to be worried about.
Goalkeeper
John Ruddy has been an instrumental player for Espirito Santo’s side this season. The 31-year-old shot-stopper has notched up 19 clean sheets from 37 appearances, making 1.86 saves per game on an average, and should definitely start under the bar.
Defence
We expect Espirito Santo to roll out a three-man defensive wall yet again this weekend, comprising of Ryan Bennett, Conor Coady and Willy Boly. These three have been rock solid at the back more often than not and there is no denying that the resilience that they have offered has played a pivotal role in making Wolves a formidable side this campaign.
Wingbacks
Matt Doherty should keep his place at the right-wingback position and would be looking to keep his fine form going after having scored a braced against Jaap Stam’s men in the midweek. Meanwhile, Barry Douglas is anticipated to take up the left-wingback’s role once again to showcase his attacking prowess.
Midfield
Ruben Neves has been a stand-out player for Wolves this season from the middle of the park and he is likely to get the green signal from Espirito Santo to start against Clough’s men. Romain Saiss might be benched this weekend and in his place, we expect Alfred N’Diaye to partner Neves.
Attack
Benik Afobe spearheaded Wolves against the Royals and he found the back of the net and thus, he deserves to get the nod to start from Espirito Santo. The 25-year-old is a clinical attacker, holds the ball really well in the final third and is quite clinical.
With Jota sidelined, we expect Ivan Cavaleiro to start from the left-wing this weekend and from the other flank, Helder Costa is seemingly likely to operate. These two wingers have to feed Afobe regularly and need to garner a substantial amount of threat to Burton Albion’s defenders.
Statistics Credits: Squawka
