Wolves have adopted a new formation that has a bank of four defenders rather than three.
The new system is what Vitor Pereira is persisting with, according to Jackson Tchatchoua, but the Portuguese is using both in-game.
His decision to switch out of the back four against Brighton has been criticised, although Danny Murphy believed it was the ‘right thing’ for Wolves to do.
Now, Joe Hart has provided his perspective and what he has noticed about Wolves when they play with four defenders.
Joe Hart believes Wolves are much better in a four-man defence
Joe Hart was part of the panel for Sunday’s edition of Match of the Day. The former Manchester City goalkeeper was analysing Wolves vs Brighton, and he pinpointed what he liked from Wolves in the first half.
Hart said, “They ended up sitting deep; they started really well; they started in a four, and they looked really positive. They had a good performance at Tottenham last week.
“When they do line up with a four, they are able to get on the front foot. Nice and congested in the middle, and making it difficult for Brighton to play. They look like they are ready to pounce; they are high up the pitch and always looking for an opportunity, can they turn it over? Brighton needed to be perfect.”
The formation change no doubt played a part in Wolves’ late collapse against Brighton when Emmanuel Agbadou came on to create a five-man defence after an hour.
However, two former Wolves legends were left baffled and surprised by another decision that Pereira made.
Vitor Pereira should persist solely with a back four
So far, we are yet to see Vitor Pereira persist with a four-man defence for a full 90 minutes in the Premier League.
When he faced Tottenham, he reverted to the original style after just one half, and against Brighton he played the four-back for just 60 minutes.
The Old Gold’s performances have improved immensely since the change, and while Pereira wants to surprise opponents with the mid-game switch, the players seem to prefer the more front-footed approach.
The likelihood is that Wolves will start the match against Sunderland as they did against both Tottenham and Brighton.
However, it will be interesting to see how long it is before Vitor Pereira makes a formation change in-game. If the Wanderers are playing well, he must not make that switch.