Wolves kick-off the New Year with a tough home clash against overachievers Nottingham Forest on Monday.
It’s been an excellent start for Wolves under Vitor Pereira as they rounded off 2024 with wins over Leicester City and Manchester United along with a draw against Tottenham.
Wolves 2-2 draw at Spurs saw them remain just outside the relegation zone, one point above 18th place Ipswich Town.
Now, Pereira arguably faces his toughest assignment yet, as the Old Gold host a Forest side who are bang in form under Nuno Espirito Santo.
The Reds are third in the Premier League table and as it stands, look on course to land some form of European football after narrowly avoiding relegation last season.
Paul Merson shares Wolves vs Nottingham Forest score prediction
Pereira will be looking to spoil the party in the away end on Monday night but he will have to do so without top scorer Matheus Cunha.
Cunha was issued a two-match ban by the FA following his violent conduct offence in their 2-1 loss against Ipswich in December.
It means the Brazilian, who has scored 10 Premier League goals already, will miss the visit of Forest and the clash against Bristol City in the FA Cup.
Former Arsenal forward Paul Merson sees this as a ‘big problem’ for Wolves as he predicts Nuno’s side to secure a narrow 2-1 win.
“Wolves have had some impressive results in recent weeks. But the big problem is that Matheus Cunha is now suspended and that’s a big boost for Nottingham Forest,” Merson wrote in his Sportskeeda column.
“If I’m being honest, I worry more about Everton than Wolves in the battle to avoid relegation. Wolves have shown enough to suggest they can avoid the drop, I can’t say the same about Everton.
“All eyes are on Forest now and they will be under pressure to keep this up. I personally don’t think they will get top four, but you have to stand up and admire them for what they’re doing. I’m backing them to beat Wolves, who will suffer from Cunha’s absence.”
The stats which show how much Wolves will miss Matheus Cunha vs Forest
Big news broke this week that Wolves have entered contract talks with Cunha, who they are desperate to keep beyond the January transfer window.
The Brazilian is instrumental to everything his side does in attack, producing 14 goal involvements in just 19 Premier League games, while dominating an array of other statistics.
| Matheus Cunha 2024/25 statistics | Rank vs Wolves teammates |
| 10 goals | 1st |
| 4 assists | 2nd |
| 2.8 shots per game | 1st |
| 11 big chances created | 1st |
| 1.8 key passes per game | 1st |
| 2.1 successful dribbles per game | 1st |
As delineated by the above table, Cunha is levels ahead of his Wolves teammates across several statistics, evincing his quality in the final third.
There’s no wonder that Arsenal are huge admirers of Cunha however, despite interest from a European giant, they will hope the 25-year-old stays beyond the transfer deadline.