Wolverhampton Wanderers will welcome Brighton & Hove Albion to Molineux for their Premier League encounter on Saturday afternoon.
The hosts will be looking to claim back-to-back league victories on home soil for the first time since November, while the visitors will be seeking to secure their third away win in four matches, having already beaten Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur on the road this month.
Match preview
© Reuters
Wolves' hopes of a top-six finish have receded in recent weeks after losing three of their last four Premier League games.
All three of these defeats have come against teams below them in the table, with a 3-2 home loss against Leeds United followed by back-to-back 1-0 away defeats against Newcastle United and Burnley.
While Bruno Lage will have been disappointed in his side's dip in form, the West Midlands outfit have not really lost ground on the three teams above them, who also failed to win their last two matches.
Wolves currently sit eighth in the table, three points behind West Ham United in seventh and five points behind Manchester United in sixth, with a game in hand on both.
Lage's men are currently on the longest run of any team in the Premier League without a draw, after winning eight and losing seven of their 15 matches in 2022.
Wolves have in fact drawn four of their last six encounters against Brighton, though they have won the last two, including a slender 1-0 success away from home in December's reverse fixture, and victory on Saturday would see them do the double over the Seagulls for the very first time.
© Reuters
Brighton missed the chance to maintain their position in the top half of the Premier League, as they let a two-goal lead slip against Southampton to draw 2-2 on home soil last weekend.
Danny Welbeck scored Brighton's fastest-ever Premier League goal, timed at one minute and 14 seconds, before a Mohammed Salisu own goal put the hosts two goals in front. However, dead-ball specialist James Ward-Prowse pulled one back for the Saints from a free kick on the stroke of half time, before netting the equaliser in the 54th minute.
Graham Potter's side have now drawn 14 league games this term, which can only be matched by Crystal Palace, and they have slipped down to 11th place, eight points behind Saturday's opponents Wolves in eighth.
Brighton have fared better away from home so far this season, accumulating 25 points from 17 games on the road – which is more than the likes of Manchester United, West Ham and Leicester City – compared with only 16 points picked up at the Amex Stadium.
The Seagulls have, however, won only one of their last 11 league visits to Molineux, a 2-0 victory in April 2017 when both sides were in the Championship.
After Romain Saiss helped Wolves win the reverse fixture 1-0 five months ago, Potter's men will be seeking revenge this time around and a victory on Saturday could see them finish the weekend as high as ninth place if other results were to go their way.
- W
- W
- L
- W
- L
- L
- L
- D
- W
- W
- L
- D
Team News
© Reuters
Wolves trio Ruben Neves (knee), Daniel Podence (foot) and Max Kilman (knock) all remain sidelined with injuries, but there is a chance that they could return before the season comes to a close.
Nelson Semedo returned to the starting lineup last weekend for the first time since the end of February, and the right wing-back is set to keep his place, with Jonny Castro operating on the opposite flank.
Raul Jimenez, Fabio Silva and Hwang Hee-chan were all named in the first XI against Burnley, but the latter two could be at risk of losing their spots, with both Francisco Trincao and Pedro Neto pushing to start in attack.
As for Brighton, Jakub Moder is ruled out for the rest of the season with an ACL injury, while Tariq Lamptey is doubtful with a knock and he will be assessed ahead of kickoff.
The potential absence of Lamptey could see Joel Veltman remain on the right side of a back four, but Potter may decide to switch to a five-man defence this weekend, so Solly March could be handed a role at right wing-back.
Yves Bissouma, who has picked up more yellow cards (10) than any other Premier League player this season, is available to return to the first XI after serving a two-game suspension, and the Mali international is set to start in centre-midfield alongside Moises Caicedo and Enock Mwepu.
Neal Maupay, who has failed to score in each of his last nine league appearances, is still just one goal away from becoming the highest Premier League goalscorer for Brighton, and the Frenchman will be battling with Welbeck and Leandro Trossard for a place up front.
Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Sa; Boly, Coady, Saiss; Semedo, Dendoncker, Moutinho, Jonny; Neto, Jimenez, Trincao
Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:
Sanchez; Veltman, Dunk, Webster; March, Mwepu, Bissouma, Caicedo, Cucurella; Trossard, Welbeck
We say: Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-1 Brighton & Hove Albion
Both sides will be keen to return to winning ways this weekend, with the hosts still pushing for a top-seven spot, while the visitors remain in the hunt to finish inside the top half.
However, a closely-fought contest is set to be played out at Molineux and with little to separate the two teams, a score draw could be on the cards.
Top tip
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 43.66%. A win for Brighton & Hove Albion had a probability of 30.65% and a draw had a probability of 25.7%.
The most likely scoreline for a Wolverhampton Wanderers win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.22%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.01%) and 2-0 (7.55%). The likeliest Brighton & Hove Albion win was 0-1 (8.27%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.2%). The actual scoreline of 0-3 was predicted with a 2% likelihood.
