Wolverhampton Wanderers will go in search of their first Premier League points under Gary O’Neil when Brighton & Hove Albion visit Molineux on Saturday afternoon.
Wolves suffered an unmerited 1-0 defeat to Manchester United on the opening weekend, while Brighton thrashed newly-promoted Luton Town 4-1 in their first match.
To say that Wolverhampton Wanderers were unfortunate to lose on the opening weekend would be an understatement, as the Black Country outfit dominated large spells of their clash with Manchester United, terrorising the hosts’ defence throughout the contest.
In fact, Wolves racked up a whopping 23 shots last time out – the second-highest figure recorded in a Premier League game at Old Trafford since 2004 – with the likes of Matheus Cunha and Pedro Neto wreaking havoc on the Red Devils’ backline.
However, the visitors failed to make the most of their dominance and were ultimately made to pay for their wastefulness, with Raphael Varane scoring the only goal of the game on 76 minutes, breaking Wolves hearts in the process.
The Wanderers can also count themselves unlucky not to have been awarded a penalty when Man Utd goalkeeper Andre Onana clumsily clattered into Sasa Kalajdzic deep into second-half stoppage time, with the officials later apologising for the mistake.
Following the untimely departure of Julen Lopetegui just days before the start of the season, Wolves fans entered the new campaign with doubts and fears, but Gary O’Neil’s first match in charge will give the supporters plenty of reasons for optimism.
Brighton & Hove Albion, meanwhile, picked up where they left off last season on the opening weekend, notching a dominant 4-1 victory over Premier League newcomers Luton Town in front of an elated Amex crowd.
Solly March opened the scoring midway through the first half before summer signing Joao Pedro doubled Brighton’s lead from the penalty spot, although Luton netted a penalty of their own in the 81st minute, with Carlton Morris’s strike setting up a nervy ending.
However, the Seagulls wasted no time in restoring their two-goal advantage through substitute Simon Adingra, while Evan Ferguson also came off the bench the complete the rout, capping off a successful season opener for Roberto De Zerbi’s side.
Having racked up 71% possession and 27 shots last time out – albeit against newly-promoted Luton – Brighton will be confident of maintaining their impressive goalscoring record under De Zerbi this weekend.
Indeed, the Seagulls have now scored at least two goals in 14 of their previous 25 Premier League encounters, netting at least three goals in nine of those matches to cement their status as one of the most exciting attacking teams in the division.
Wolves have reported no injury problems ahead of Saturday’s showdown, although the club has parted ways with a host of key players this summer, including Ruben Neves, Nathan Collins, Conor Coady, Raul Jimenez, Joao Moutinho, Adama Traore and Diego Costa.
O’Neil will be reluctant to make changes to the starting XI that produced the battling away performance at Old Trafford, meaning that Matheus Cunha and Pablo Sarabia will likely in attack in a 4-3-3 formation.
The dangerous Pedro Neto and Matheus Nunes are expected to feature in wide and central areas, with Mario Lemina and Joao Gomes operating in the engine room, while Max Kilman and Craig Dawson should resume their centre-back partnership.
As for Brighton, Jakub Moder remains sidelined due to a serious knee problem, while Adam Lallana and Adam Webster are injury doubts for Saturday’s clash.
De Zerbi handed starts to new signings James Milner, Mahmoud Dahoud and Joao Pedro on the opening weekend, with Milner operating at right-back and Pedro sitting behind striker Danny Welbeck in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Having enjoyed breakout 2022-23 campaigns, young attackers Evan Ferguson, Julio Enciso and Facundo Buonanotte will all be pushing for a start this weekend, with Ferguson and Enciso coming off the bench last time out.
Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Sa; Semedo, Dawson, Kilman, Ait-Nouri; Gomes, Lemina, Nunes; Sarabia, Cunha, Neto
Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:
Steele; Milner, Van Hecke, Dunk, Estupinan; Gross, Dahoud; March, Pedro, Mitoma; Welbeck
We say: Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-2 Brighton & Hove Albion
There is no denying that Wolves gave a good account of themselves against Man Utd, but O’Neil’s men could struggle to replicate that performance on Saturday.
With that in mind, we expect Brighton to secure a narrow victory at Molineux, as the Seagulls’ cohesive patterns of play should be too much for Wolves to handle.
