Wolves will be looking to emulate last weekend’s victory over Bournemouth with a place in the FA Cup quarter-finals at stake.
It’s been a season of misery for the Wanderers, who have spent most of it either occupying a place in the bottom three or treading dangerously above the dotted line.
Wolves’ 1-0 victory over Bournemouth on Saturday sparked confidence of survival, but Vitor Pereira’s men were brought back down to earth in midweek, with Fulham securing a 2-1 win at Molineux.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 15 |  EvertonEverton | 27 | 7 | 11 | 9 | 30 | 34 | -4 | 32 |
| 16 |  West HamWest Ham | 26 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 30 | 47 | -17 | 30 |
| 17 |  WolvesWolves | 27 | 6 | 4 | 17 | 37 | 56 | -19 | 22 |
| 18 |  IpswichIpswich | 27 | 3 | 8 | 16 | 26 | 57 | -31 | 17 |
| 19 |  LeicesterLeicester | 26 | 4 | 5 | 17 | 25 | 59 | -34 | 17 |
With a current five-point buffer on 18th place Ipswich Town, Pereira has some breathing space, and while survival is the most important, a long run in a cup competition has been welcomed.
Last season, Wolves reached the FA Cup quarter-finals under Gary O’Neil before losing to Coventry City, and now Chris Sutton has predicted whether they’ll advance into the last eight.
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Chris Sutton makes score prediction for Bournemouth vs Wolves
Wolves cruised to a 2-0 victory over Blackburn in the previous round, thanks to goals from Matheus Cunha and Joao Gomes.
Unsurprisingly, former Blackburn striker Sutton predicted the hosts would pull off an upset, and that, of course, didn’t come to fruition.
In his latest column for BBC Sport, Sutton is tipping Bournemouth to beat Wolves 2-1 and advance into the quarterfinals, despite securing victory over the Cherries on Saturday.
“Wolves won here in the Premier League on Saturday but only after Bournemouth had Illia Zabarnyi sent off in the first half,” he wrote. “That completely skewed that result so I am not using it as a form guide for this tie.
“What will be more relevant is how many changes both teams make for this game. I was at Wolves’ win over Blackburn in round four and their manager Vitor Pereira went kind of half-strong there.
“I can guarantee you he will be prioritising Premier League survival ahead of FA Cup progress, so we will probably see another mix-and-match selection from him here too.”
Sutton believes Pereira will pick a somewhat weakened side to prioritise their Premier League status, but he should go all out.
Pereira should go strong against Bournemouth
Wolves fans were denied a day out at Wembley last season after losing to Championship side Coventry. In a campaign of rare highs, the Old Gold have experienced some joy in this competition.
Although they’ve only overcome two second-tier opponents, the Wanderers will be confident of securing their passage into the quarters.
Last weekend, Pereira masterminded an excellent win at the Vitality Stadium. Some will say they had to do it against 10 men, but even before Illia Zabarnyi was sent off, Wolves had chances to score.
There’s no doubt that the Cherries will pose an even bigger threat on Saturday, though with Cunha firing from all cylinders and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde in form, there’s every chance of another brilliant day out.