Ahead of their away game at Aston Villa this weekend, Wolves are still hoping for their first league win of the season.
Wolves have avoided defeat against their West Midlands rivals in seven of their last ten games, but given their current form, the chances of that continuing are slim.
While Aston Villa are on a winning streak with four wins from five competitions, Wolves have only picked up one point against Nottingham Forest this season, losing in their other matches to Arsenal, Chelsea and Newcastle.
Despite this poor start to the season and one win in the last 14 games, Gary O’Neil has the full support of the Wolves management, who are willing to give him playing time on the bench.
Time is a luxury in modern football, but to avoid doubts, better results and performances are needed.
Wolves team and injury news ahead of Aston Villa
Wolves were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Brighton on Wednesday night after O’Neil described Goncalo Guedes as “excellent”.
There were some notable absences from the squad for this encounter, as defenders Rayan Ait-Nouri and Toti Gomes were unavailable due to injury.
In Friday’s pre-match press conference ahead of the away game at Villa Park, O’Neil gave an update on the injuries to Ait-Nouri and Toti, with the Wolves head coach claiming both require further scans to determine whether they are fit enough to play in the team.
While the situation for the above duo remains uncertain, he announced that Boubacar Traore will be out until December due to a knee injury sustained in the 2-0 win over Burnley.
Expected Wolves starting line-up against Aston Villa
O’Neil rotated most of his team for the midweek cup defeat to Brighton, replacing Sam Johnstone with Jose Sa.
Sa did himself no favours by reclaiming the number one shirt, with many fans feeling that the Portuguese goalkeeper “lacked confidence”.
This means Johnstone – who arrived from Crystal Palace on the final day of the transfer window – will return to the starting line-up, along with a back four that will feature one change from last weekend’s defeat to Newcastle.
Starting from right to left, Nelson Semedo should be deployed on the right flank alongside a centre-back pairing of Craig Dawson and Yerson Mosquera, with Matt Doherty filling in at left-back.
Doherty was “disappointing” as a substitute against Newcastle, but if Toti and Ait-Nouri are indeed out, O’Neil may be forced to act and the 32-year-old could stay in the team after starting in midweek.
The £21million Andre made his debut last Sunday alongside Joao Gomes and Mario Lemina and the same trio are likely to start for the visit to Villa Park.
As for the attacking line, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde will retain his role on the left wing. Meanwhile, Matheus Cunha forms a fantastic partnership with Jorgen Strand Larsen and that should continue on Saturday, although Goncalo Guedes had a good argument for a start after his goal against Brighton.
Wolves (4-4-1-1): Johnstone; Semedo, Dawson, Mosquera, Doherty; Lemina, Gomes, Andre, Bellegarde; Cunha; Larsen.
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