Wolves are still looking for their first three points of the season when they travel to Aston Villa on Saturday afternoon.
It’s been an extremely difficult start to the season for Gary O’Neil, watching his Wolves side suffer defeats against Arsenal, Chelsea and Newcastle while securing a point at Nottingham Forest.
To make matters worse, the Old Gold were knocked out of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night after losing 3-2 to Brighton.
Sadly, this weekend’s derby clash against Aston Villa shows no sign of the tide turning, as Unai Emery’s men have won four from five in all competitions.
Paul Merson understandably thinks Wolves will fall to their fourth league defeat this term, which is a prediction shared by many.
Alan Shearer predicts the result of Aston Villa vs Wolves
Alan Shearer shares his weekly prediction for every Premier League game in his column for Metro and in his verdict on the Wolves match, he touched on their transfer window.
Shearer felt the Wanderers selling their two best players, Max Kilman and Pedro Neto, has had a major impact on their start to the campaign.
Predicting Wolves to have a ‘tough’ season after watching their first four games, he doesn’t give them a chance of avoiding defeat at Villa Park.
“It’s been a tough start to the season for Wolves, and it doesn’t help when you’ve sold your two best players in Neto and Max Kilman,” Shearer wrote.
“I know they’ve brought players in, but I’ve looked at Wolves in these first four games and I think it’s going to be tough for them this season.
“They did okay last season; they struggled at the end but I am a fan of Gary O’Neil, however, Gary has to go out and win some games pretty sharpish. I don’t think that will start here though, home win.”
Wolves haven’t properly replaced Max Kilman and Pedro Neto
This summer, Wolves sold Kilman and Neto for a total that almost touches £100 million.
Kilman was the captain last season and was crucial in defence alongside Toti Gomes and Craig Dawson while Neto was their most talented player, who could produce a world-class moment from nothing.
Replacing two important pieces to their puzzle was always going to prove difficult and that was reflected in their transfer business.
Wolves didn’t manage to capture a direct replacement for Kilman while Neto’s heir came in the shape of former Manchester City winger Carlos Forbs.
It was a stupid decision not to replace their captain and it remains to be seen how well Forbs will do in the Premier League.
Ultimately, their departures have impacted how they’ve started the season and Shearer is right; Wolves are in for a tough campaign.