Wolves are back in Premier League action against Manchester United tonight, after the last two matches were postponed.
Bruno Lage’s side have not featured since playing out a 0-0 draw with Chelsea on December 19th.
Wolves reported after the announcement about the Arsenal game that the club have six Covid cases in the squad.
Hopefully those players affected are all OK and have returned negative tests in order to be available.
Manchester United just beat Burnley 3-1, and will be looking to keep pace with the top four.
It’s been a mixed bag performance-wise from them under Ralf Rangnick so far, but they are unbeaten in the league under the German and obviously have some top players.
Here’s how Bruno Lage might set up at Old Trafford…
Predicted Wolves XI to face Manchester United
Jose Sa will keep his place in goal and be hopeful of an eighth clean sheet of the campaign.
Tonight’s match will be the last game for Romain Saiss before he heads off to AFCON. That is a huge blow for Wolves, and hopefully he’ll put in another stellar showing alongside Max Kilman and Conor Coady before he departs.
Nelson Semedo is probably set to play at right wing-back, and Rayan Ait-Nouri could feature on the left. The Frenchman has missed the last couple of games through injury, but has been back in training suggesting he could be fit again.
In midfield, Lage has shown a tendency to use all three central midfielders against the bigger sides. He did it against Liverpool and Manchester City last month.
It would be no surprise to see him throw Leander Dendoncker in along with Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho.
The Belgian could be useful in nullifying Bruno Fernandes.
Using three midfielders would mean only two spots up top.
Adama Traore has surely got to start as he can exploit United’s lack of pace and mobility at the back.
It’s possible the Spaniard could feature alongside Raul Jimenez.
Daniel Podence could probably count himself unlucky if he was dropped. But the £17 million ace may have to be content with a place on the bench.
Predicting the team this time is difficult. It could well be that some players won’t be available because of Covid.
But hopefully whoever is named as a starter tonight sees the game as a real opportunity. Both to get points, and to stake a personal claim to remain in the team.