On Monday night, from 20:00, Wolverhampton and Southampton meet in the 9th round of the Premier League, in a match in which the “saints” hope to surprise Molineux. A balanced match is announced, between the teams that have European pretensions this season. Perhaps more on the part of the “Portuguese wolves”, who have made remarkable progress in recent years.
Southampton is in 5th place in the Premier League (goal difference 16-12), with four victories in the last five stages. Wolverhampton is on the 10th place (goal difference 8-9), having this season a more “imposing” defense than the attack. Certainly, the loss of Diego Jota, who left for Liverpool, will weigh in the performances of the “wolves”, but Nuno Espirito Santo trains a homogeneous and valuable group. Only 3 points separate the two rivals in the ranking. Defenders Coady and Castro will not be able to play for the hosts, and Ings and Salisu are missing from the guests. The absence of the English goal scorer could be very important in the economy of the final result.
Last season, before the international break, Wolverhampton lost to Leicester, 0-1, after a good series of results in the league: 1-0 with Fulham, 1-0 with Leeds United, 1-1 with Newcastle and 2 -0 with Crystal Palace. Instead, Ralf Hasenhuttl’s team is on the wave and has top results in the last month: they defeated the WBA (2-0), Everton (2-0), Aston Villa (4-3) and Newcastle (2- 0), also drawing with Chelsea, away (3-3). In each game, the white-and-reds’ game was very consistent, with excellent performances from the band players. The construction of the “saints” is fast and progressive, so we do not rule out a spectacular match.
In the last 3 consecutive direct duels we have witnessed goals from both sides, so we can expect again a game with many goal phases. It was 3-2 for the Wolves on their last visit to St. Louis. Mary’s, after Southampton won 3-1 at home in 2019.
Last time, on Molineux, we witnessed a balanced 1-1. Even if Southampton is a spectacular team, we know that in Wolves’ matches, on average, only 2.13 goals are scored every 90 minutes, so the bet on “Over 2.5 goals” is quite risky. Even so, the first half of the “wolves” is quite spectacular, but we will stay away from such selections. Wolverhampton have 3 wins and one defeat in the last 5 direct matches
Wolverhampton Wanderers: Patricio; Boly, Coady, Kilman; Semedo, Dendoncker, Neves, Marcal; Traore, Jimenez, Neto
Coach: Nuno Espirito Santo
Southampton: McCarthy; Walker-Peters, Bednarek, Vestergaard, Bertrand; Armstrong, Ward-Prowse, Romeu, Djenepo; Walcott, Adams
Coach: Ralf Hasenhuttl
In 5 of the last 6 matches played by Wolves at home, they scored under 2.5 goals;
For the first time in the 2015/2016 season, Southampton can get 4 wins in a row;
Southampton are without a win in their last 12 games on Monday;
Che Adams (Southampton) has scored 3 times in the last 4 stages of the championship;
Under 2.5 goals have been scored in Wolverhampton’s last 5 league matches;
In 6 of Southampton’s last 7 matches, at least two goals have been scored;
