Wolverhampton Wanderers take on Bournemouth at Molineux on Wednesday evening looking to extend their unbeaten Premier League record to seven matches.

Meanwhile, Bournemouth make the trip to the West Midlands having suffered four defeats in five matches, a run which has left the Cherries in the relegation zone.

Match preview

Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo on September 28, 2019 © Reuters

Wolves are no strangers to having to take on a hectic schedule in order to achieve their goals, a scenario which has seemingly only aided their development as a club.

While they remain as underdogs to claim a Champions League spot, Nuno Espirito Santo will feel that his team are well equipped to outlast their rivals in the coming weeks.

Wolves have made a habit of scoring goals during the final quarter of games this seasons, and that trait was again on show at the weekend as they recorded a 2-0 victory over West Ham United.

Although Raul Jimenez and Pedro Neto got on the scoresheet, the double was a consequence of the introduction of Adama Traore, who easily outpaced a tiring Hammers backline.

As fitness levels improve, such a tactic will become less effective, but Nuno will want to use the attributes of the winger as much as possible as his team look to retain hold of a top-six spot in the standings.

Having under-performed against Crystal Palace at the weekend, there will be a certain feeling of trepidation within the Bournemouth ranks ahead of their encounter with Wolves.

However, despite now sitting in the bottom three, Eddie Howe will feel that his players are under no pressure to gain a result against such a disciplined, in-form outfit.

Providing that they can frustrate opponents who prefer to play on the break, Howe will be optimistic that his team can gain a result which would ultimately be perceived to be a bonus.

While the return of David Brooks is a significant plus, the Cherries will not make headway up the standings unless they can end a run of conceding at least two goals in their last five games.

Wolverhampton Wanderers Premier League form: DDWWDW
Wolverhampton Wanderers form (all competitions): WLWDDW

Bournemouth Premier League form: WLLDLL

Team News

Adama Traore in action for Wolves on December 27, 2019 © Reuters

Despite the obvious benefits of using Traore off the bench, Nuno will likely hand a recall to the winger for this contest.

That could result in Leander Dendoncker dropping out of the side, although the short turnaround to Saturday's derby with Aston Villa may lead to Joao Moutinho beginning among the replacements.

Unless Nuno opts to bring Ruben Vinagre into the team, the rest of the starting lineup is expected to remain the same.

Josh King is a major doubt for Bournemouth after being withdrawn against Palace with a knock to his ankle.

Having suffered cramp in his first game back, David Brooks may drop down to the substitutes' bench.

Given those selection issues, Howe could consider reverting to a back three in order to match their hosts.

Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Patricio; Boly, Coady, Saiss; Doherty, Neves, Moutinho, Jonny; Traore, Jimenez, Jota

Bournemouth possible starting lineup:
Ramsdale; Mepham, Cook, Ake; Smith, Lerma, Gosling, Cook, Groeneveld; H.Wilson; C.Wilson

We say: Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-1 Bournemouth

While Wolves impressed during their win over West Ham, they will be up against a Bournemouth outfit which can only improve after their dismal showing against Palace. Nevertheless, we expect Wolves to run out fairly-convincing winners on Wednesday night.

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Wolverhampton Wanderers win with a probability of 61.87%. A draw had a probability of 22.6% and a win for Bournemouth had a probability of 15.55%.

The most likely scoreline for a Wolverhampton Wanderers win was 1-0 with a probability of 13.8%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (12.4%) and 2-1 (9.54%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.61%), while for a Bournemouth win it was 0-1 (5.91%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 13.8% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-0 win for Wolverhampton Wanderers in this match.