Wolves Vs Bournemouth Preview

It would be a shame if we spluttered out in these final three home games, but it’s possible.

Bournemouth and Palace have been on an upward swing and Luton will be dying for the cause on Saturday, so while our attack remains hodgepodge at best, the prospect of a victory in any of these fixtures feels like a Herculean task.

At a minimum, we need the same endeavour we saw against Arsenal. It’s probably not so easy to get the players going for non-title-chasing opposition, but that’s what Gary has to do.

And while it’s understandable we’re not scoring many goals, it would be nice to keep a cleansheet. We’ve only managed five all season. Only four of the relegation-threatened sides have a worse record.

Bournemouth

It felt like a relegation six-pointer when we won the grudge match at the Vitality Stadium in October, so well done to both teams for commendable progress.

Andoni Iraola has proven himself a capable manager in the Premier League and Gary O’Neil has enhanced his own reputation, so everyone is happy right?

That should take some of the sting out of tomorrow’s return leg, but no doubt the Cherries will want to settle the score and get ahead of us in the table, so there’s a little bit of spice.

Dominic Solanke got his 18th Premier League goal of the season in the defeat to Villa last weekend and is still in the running for the Golden Boot. He might well get a move in the summer.

An away record of 5 wins, 3 draws and 8 defeats will mirror our own if this one ends up level. I see many similarities between the sides, with a good level of technical ability and a desire to get forward but also clear vulnerability at the back.

With the managerial link and the whole Alex Scott saga last summer, it’s clear we’re fishing in a similar pond, so it will be interesting to compare how the clubs operate in the summer and where they find themselves when this fixture comes around again.

Wolves

I waited for the press conference this time and Gary seemed more positive about the injuries.

If we get something like the above XI on the pitch with the prospect of introducing Cuhna, Semedo and even Bellegarde from the bench, there’s hope we can do something.

That being said, I’m dubious about Hwang leading the line. My perception is that he thrives on the chaos created by others rather than being the focal point of the attack himself. Still, he does have the knack of being in the right place and 10 Premier League goals already is a solid achievement in a stop-start season.

Ait-Nouri back in the starting XI is big. As we saw in the first half against West Ham and back-to-back games against Villa and Burnley before that, he’s got the talent to drag us forward.

Predictions

Well done to Rich, Pauluswolf, Winchcombe Wolf, Marin Wolf and Aquilador for correctly guessing we’d lose 0-2 to Arsenal.

I feel like all I do lately is predict draws, so I’ll go for a narrow defeat tomorrow – 1-2. Only because I think their performance is likely to be tighter with a more consistent group, as well as one of the form attackers in the league at their disposal.

They’re definitely flakey though and concede a lot of goals, so if we can keep it tight at the back ourselves for a change, a positive outcome is easily achievable.

As always, if you’d like to join in with the Prediction League this season, it’s simple – just leave your prediction in the comment section below using the boxes provided. Then repeat for every preview article throughout the season, making sure you always use the same email address to make your prediction. Your email is what ties you to your overall score.

Up The Wolves!