Form
27/04/19 – Watford 1-2 Wolves
24/04/19 – Wolves 3-1 Arsenal
20/04/19 – Wolves 0-0 Brighton
13/04/19 – Southampton 3-1 Wolves
07/04/19 – Watford 3-2 Wolves (FA Cup)
Tactics
Nuno Espirito Santo sets up Wolves in the modern day 3 back defensive system, with the wingers serving as advanced wingbacks. His central midfield is filled with the creativity of Neves and Moutinho, while Dendoncker stays back in front of the centre circle to pick off counters. Up the pitch is the tag-team duo of Raul Jimenez and Diogo Jota, a pair which have combined 22 goals and 13 assists on the season. Defensively, Coady and Boly make up the brute muscle but could pass for exceptional defensive midfielders with the way they can distribute the ball.
Battle to Watch
Jota vs Chambers: Diogo Jota likes to drop deeper to allow the overlaps from the wingers to take place, and he should encounter our defensive midfielders, assuming Parker sets up in a 2 CDM role. It will be important for Chambers, or Anguissa, to be as physical as possible to the slippery Jota, but also an emphasis to understand the trickery the Portuguese player can produce. If Chambers can manage to throw Jota off his game, there could be a good chance the Fulham defence can hold on for a point or three.
Danger Man
Raul Jimenez has 13 goals on the season, and other than goal scoring, he’s extremely dangerous in the way he can find his teammates to set up scoring chances. The Fulham defence will have their hands full with a strong framed forward, who is surprisingly nimble with his soft touches and his direct attempts on the frame at any location on the pitch.
Last 5 Meetings
26/12/18 – Fulham 1-1 Wolves (PL)
24/02/18 – Fulham 2-0 Wolves (C’ship)
03/11/17 – Wolves 2-0 Fulham (C’ship)
18/03/17 – Fulham 1-3 Wolves (C’ship)
10/12/16 – Wolves 4-4 Fulham (C’ship)
Head-to-Head
Fulham wins 26
Draws 23
Wolves wins 42
Stats & Facts
- Fulham have won one of the last 11 meetings with Wolves in all competitions, the 2-0 Championship victory at Craven Cottage in February 2018 when Ryan Sessegnon and Aleksandar Mitrovic were on target. The Whites also prevailed on penalties at Molineux in January 2015 when an FA Cup 3rd Round replay ended 3-3 AET.
- That home victory is the only clean sheet that Fulham have kept against Wolves in the last nine attempts – they have conceded a total of 22 goals in the other eight meetings.
- Both Fulham and Wolves have finished matches having scored exactly 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 goals in the last nine meetings between the clubs.
- Fulham have failed to win any of their last 14 trips to Molineux (inside 90 minutes) in all competitions since a 4-0 victory in April 1985 in the old Division Two. The visitors’ goals coming courtesy of Ray Houghton’s final strike for the club and a Tony Sealy hat-trick.
- Fulham have won three consecutive Premier League games for the first time since 2012. They have never won four consecutive games in the Premier League, and have not done so in the English top-flight since a run of five wins in the old Division One between February and April 1966.
Players in Common
Emmanuel Frimpong, Jordan Graham, Marcus Hahnemann, Andrew Lonergan, Scott Malone, Kevin McDonald, Sheyi Ojo, Seol Ki Hyeon, Richard Stearman.
Magic Moment
Having fallen behind in the 22nd minute, Fulham scored 3 goals in 10 minutes to race into a 3-1 half time lead at Molineux in December 2016. The third goal was a magnificent strike from Tom Cairney; the future Fulham captain was lurking on the edge of the 18-yard box and Stefan Johnansen picked him out with a clipped pass from a free kick on the left wing. Tom wrapped his left foot around the ball and sent the ball straight into the top corner on the volley giving the keeper no chance whatsoever!
Wolves pegged us back in the second half and even took a 4-3 lead in the last minute before Floyd Ayite rescued a point for the Whites right at the death. With 63% possession and 25 shots at goal, a point was the very least we deserved!
Match Prediction
Relegation aside, it’s been a good April for us. With 3 wins in a row, one of which included our first away from home, it is not a stretch to think we can continue the trend against Wolves at Molineux. The thing is though, Wolves are having a strong April as well, again aside from losing in the FA Cup to Watford and a surprising away loss to Southampton. The key is that both sides are undefeated in their last 3 matches, and all depends on which team will be able to continue the good vibes from those matches. We have a team that is finally united thanks to Scott Parker, while Wolves have a team that has been a shining example of what to do when promoted. I’d love to say we will come out with another improbable win, but Wolves are a side that dominates at home and considering they have not lost at Molineux since January, I fear our good vibes may be ground to a halt. I believe we will get on the score sheet, but Wolves will be too clinical, unlike Cardiff and Bournemouth, securing a 3-1 victory – with Mitrovic bagging a consolation goal as his 12th on the season. Regardless of the result, I am sticking with the vote to place Parker in the permanent manager role – COYW!
Predicted line-up
(4-2-3-1): Rico; Le Marchand, Ream, Bryan, Christie; Anguissa, Chambers, Cairney, Sessegnon, Babel; Mitrovic
