Wolves host Bournemouth in a crunch Premier League clash in the fight for survival.
Victory would see Wolves climb to 12th in the table if Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest both lose elsewhere.
Bournemouth can climb out of the relegation zone with a win.
Team News
Mario Lemina is suspended for Wolves after he was red carded in their comeback win at Southampton last weekend.
Daniel Podence (adductor) is a doubt but Hwang Hee-Chan (hamstring), Boubacar Traore (groin), Chiquinho and Sasa Kalajdzic (both knee) remain ruled out.
Bournemouth could be without Marcos Senesi after he suffered a back injury during last weekend’s 1-1 draw against Newcastle.
Lewis Cook (knee) could also be in contention but Lloyd Kelly (calf), Illia Zabarnyi (ankle), Junior Stanislas (knock) and David Brooks (fitness) remain absent.
When is Kick-Off?
Wolves host Bournemouth on Saturday 18 February at Molineux in a 3pm GMT kick-off, albeit untelvised within the UK.
Stat Attack
- Wolves are yet to lose to Bournemouth after five previous Premier League meetings (W3, D2).
- Bournemouth lost each of their two previous Premier League visits to Wolves without scoring (L2).
- Wolves’ Raul Jimenez has scored in each of his last two home appearances against Bournemouth (W2).
- Wolves have scored four goals in their last two league matches at home without conceding (W2).
- Bournemouth have failed to score in their last five away matches in all competitions (L5), during which they conceded nine goals.
Prediction
Compared to a clinical win over Liverpool a fortnight ago, Wolves certainly were made to made to work for their comeback victory at Southampton as they struggled with the Saints’ intensity but crucially were alert to punish some sloppy second-half defending despite having Lemina sent off.
Bournemouth meanwhile benefitted from having Solanke back up front because they did produce some excellent compact play, with quick movement and end product in attack against Newcastle which nearly paid off if not a marking error which allowed the Magpies to snatch a draw.
Molineux though hasn’t exactly been kind to Bournemouth in the Premier League era so I do expect a tough game, but Wolves probably will have enough to snatch a win although I do expect the Cherries to make it difficult defensively like they did last weekend.
Prediction: Wolves 1-0 Bournemouth
Result: Wolves 0-1 Bournemouth
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