Seeking to consolidate their top-half status in the Premier League, Wolverhampton Wanderers play host to Brentford at Molineux on Saturday afternoon.
The two teams meet for the fourth time this season and renew acquaintances just three-and-a-half weeks after Wolves claimed a 3-2 home victory in a FA Cup third-round replay.
Match preview
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Six weeks after beating Chelsea 2-1 on home soil, Wolves completed their first league double over the Blues since 1974-75 after claiming an emphatic 4-2 victory at Stamford Bridge last Sunday.
Despite boasting only 35% possession, Wolves were clinical in the final third and recovered from Cole Palmer's early opener with two deflected strikes to turn the game on its head; Matheus Cunha equalised shortly before an Axel Disasi own goal gave the visitors a half-time lead.
Cunha then slammed home a third before completing his hat-trick from the penalty spot to inspire Wolves to their ninth Premier League victory of the season and their first win at Stamford Bridge for 45 years.
Gary O'Neil, arguably a contender for manager of the season, has seen his Wolves side climb above Chelsea into 10th spot, and securing European football for next season has become a distinct possibility as they are only four points behind seventh-placed West Ham United and six points adrift of Manchester United in sixth with 15 games still to play.
Wolves are now gearing up for their fourth meeting with Brentford in the space of just over six weeks and they should be confident of success on Saturday having won two and drawn one of the previous three clashes against the Bees, winning the reverse fixture in the league by a 4-1 scoreline at the end of December.
The West Midlands outfit, who have won four of their last six top-flight matches, will welcome a return to Molineux where they have lost only one of their last 10 games in all tournaments – a 4-3 defeat to Man United just over a week ago courtesy of a 97th-minute goal from Kobbie Mainoo.
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After beating Manchester City both home and away last season, Brentford were on course to claim another scalp against the treble winners as Neal Maupay put the Bees in front midway through the first half of Monday night's contest at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Despite Mark Flekken's heroics between the sticks, making a season-high nine saves in the first half, Man City restored parity on the stroke of half time through Phil Foden, who then inspired the champions to victory after the break with two more goals to complete a superb hat-trick, condemning the Bees to a 3-1 defeat.
Thomas Frank's side have now dropped a league-high 26 points from winning positions and have lost more games (six) than they have won (five) when opening the scoring this season. Eight defeats in their last nine league games has also seen Brentford slip into the relegation picture, as they now sit 15th in the table and only three points above the bottom three.
Defensive frailties have been a key factor behind Brentford's notable slump in form as they have conceded in each of their last 12 Premier League games – no team is enduring a longer run without keeping a clean sheet in the division.
Keeping the ball out of the net on Saturday could prove challenging for the Bees as they have lost four of their last five visits to Molineux and have conceded 11 goals in the process – the only exception being a 2-0 victory in September 2021 during their first season in the Premier League.
Team News
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Wolves currently have a clean bill of health, while O'Neil is also set to welcome back Hwang Hee-chan and Boubacar Traore as their international spells with South Korea and Mali respectively have come to an end.
O'Neil could be tempted to name an unchanged side following their emphatic win at Chelsea, but should he opt to freshen up his frontline, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde could replace Pablo Sarabia to line up alongside Pedro Neto and Cunha, the latter of whom has been directly involved in 12 goals in Wolves' last 12 Premier League matches (seven goals and five assists).
After beginning as a substitute last time out, Tommy Doyle will be hoping to force his way back into the first XI, but Joao Gomes will likely keep his spot in centre-midfield alongside Mario Lemina.
As for Brentford, Josh Dasilva sustained a 'significant' knee injury in training last week and he will soon undergo surgery, ruling him out for lengthy period, while Bryan Mbeumo (ankle), Aaron Hickey (thigh), Rico Henry (knee) and Kevin Schade (groin) all remain in the treatment room.
Frank Onyeka remains unavailable as he prepares to represent Nigeria in the Africa Cup of Nations final, but DR Congo's Yoane Wissa and Iran's Saman Ghoddos could be in contention to return as their respective internationals spells have come to an end.
Tottenham Hotspur loanee Sergio Reguilon was handed his full debut last time out and he could retain his place at left wing-back at the expense of Keane Lewis-Potter, while Maupay - who has scored in each of his last five appearances in all competitions - is set to continue in attack with talisman Ivan Toney.
Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Sa; Kilman, Dawson, Toti; Semedo, Lemina, Gomes, Ait-Nouri; Bellegarde, Neto; Cunha
Brentford possible starting lineup:
Flekken; Collins, Mee, Pinnock; Roerslev, Janelt, Jensen, Norgaard, Reguilon; Toney, Maupay
We say: Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-1 Brentford
Considering that five of the last six meetings between these two clubs have seen both teams score, an entertaining contest could be on the cards this weekend, but Wolves will be regarded as favourites to come out on top.
Indeed, O'Neil's men are brimming with confidence at present, in stark contrast to a defensively frail Brentford outfit, who may struggle to keep out a rampant Wolves side at Molineux.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
