Wolves will travel to Wales to face off against Neil Warnock’s Cardiff City at the Cardiff City Stadium on Friday night. The West Midlands team suffered a shock 2-0 defeat at the hands of Huddersfield Town last weekend which has put a dent in their strong start to life in the Premier League.
Nuno Espirito Santo would be hoping for a quick response from his players this week, but it won’t be easy to earn a win versus the Bluebirds who have looked quite strong in their home turf over the past few weeks.
Wolves should once again line up in a 3-4-3 formation, and this clash at Cardiff could see the return of Diogo Jota to Nuno Santo’s first-team after his recent spell in the sidelines with injury.
3-4-3 Wolves Predicted Lineup To Face Cardiff City
Defence
The Portuguese international, Rui Patricio is likely to retain his place in goal for the West Midlands outfit on Friday night while John Ruddy has to be content with a spot on Nuno Espirito Santo’s bench. The ever-present back three of Ryan Bennett, Conor Coady and Willy Boly would make up the defensive line for Wolves. All three of them struggled to cope with the threat of the Huddersfield attackers last weekend so they would be expected to put on a much-improved shift against the Bluebirds this week.
The Wolves manager will demand a strong defensive display against Cardiff, a team that have looked quite capable of scoring a few goals in front of their home supporters in recent weeks.
Midfield
Nuno Santo will once again opt to start with the Portuguese midfield pair of Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho as they have formed a strong partnership at the middle of the park. Matt Doherty will continue to feature as the right wing-back while Ruben Vinagre might keep his place on the left flank in the absence of Jonny Castro.
It will be up to the Wolves midfield four to put on a dominant showing on Friday so that they can play their natural game inside the Cardiff City Stadium and come away with maximum points from this Premier League contest.
Attack
The dynamic attacking duo of Diogo Jota and Helder Costa might be unleashed behind Raul Jimenez, who would operate as the lone centre-forward up top for the West Midlands outfit on Friday. The Mexican prospect has been at the heart of most of Wolves’ good work going forward so he would be expected to make a significant difference against Cardiff this week.
Jota is likely to come in and replace Ivan Cavaleiro on the right wing. Adama Traore will start as a substitute and might feature during the latter stages of the game if required.
