Wolves are on a run of three successive victories in the Championship and currently occupy sixth place in the table. After a shaky start to the season they are finding form under Stale Solbakken and expectations are rising amongst the Molineux faithful that they could well return to the Premier League at the first time of asking. The Dane has put a lot of emphasis on attacking in recent matches and challenged opposition teams to defend against genuine pace and power. Kevin Doyle, Sylvain Ebanks Blake, Bakary Sako and Tongo Doumbia have provided Wolves with so much threat in the past fortnight and given them an impetus that they were lacking in August and the early part of September. Leicester, Ipswich and Peterborough have all been on the receiving end whilst the other pleasing thing for the manager is that they looked to have shored things up slightly at the back as well.
Dave Jones and Sheffield Wednesday are finding things difficult on their return to the Championship as they sit just one place outside the bottom three. Despite winning two of their seven matches the Owls have failed to find any middle ground in a lot of their games, it’s either all or bust and it’s resulted in them losing four games. A big concern for Jones is the amount of goals they have conceded having shipped 16 in their seven matches to date. It’s the worst defensive record in the league and will need addressing if they are to climb the table. Having not kept a clean sheet in the league all season and with five straight losses in all competitions, Wednesday really need to produce a big performance and Jones will think that Molineux, a ground where he managed for three years including a spell in the top flight, is the perfect place for that to happen.
It’s too early to say whether or not Wolves have found the consistency needed to mount that challenge for promotion but the potential is definitely there. It could be argued that their two most recent wins have come against sides who are struggling and out of form but they have dispatched them with considerable ease, both with clean sheets and with a certain arrogance. Having rested near enough a full side against Chelsea in the cup, there is no doubt that Solbakken is determined to continue that good league run with a win tomorrow.
Dave Jones’ teams are normally very attractive to watch and his Wednesday side are no different. They may well have the worst defensive record in the division but they are a threat going forward, evidenced by their 11 goals in seven matches – the only side in the bottom seven sides to reach double figures. Jones will be demanding a better concentration and a more disciplined unit to allow his attacking players to make the difference at the other end of the park.
Wolves have the momentum behind them and I strongly fancy them to add to Wednesday’s woes by gaining their fourth consecutive league victory – making Dave Jones return an unhappy one.
Wolves EVENS @ BetVictor
