There could be quite the coincidence on Saturday if Rob Edwards and Wolves manage to beat Crystal Palace based on the head coach’s time at Luton.
Rob Edwards did a remarkable job with the Hatters after taking over from Nathan Jones, who left to manage Southampton midway through the 2022/2023 season.
The former Wales international brought them to the play-offs after finishing third and then guided them to victory in the final to become a Premier League side.
While all three promoted sides would ultimately get relegated, Luton were the closest to staying up, with a win against Saturday’s opponents in 2023/2024 being his first in the Premier League.
Edwards is said to have had an instant impact already at Wolves, and that could be huge for the Old Gold in Saturday’s game, which has a strange happenstance for the head coach.
Wolves fans, how do you see Rob Edwards getting on in his first game against Crystal Palace?
Rob Edwards got first Premier League win with Luton after November international break vs Crystal Palace
The November international break is now over, and up first for Rob Edwards heading into the festive period is Crystal Palace.
The new Wolves head coach will have a sense of deja vu, as this will not be the first time he has faced the Eagles at this part of the schedule.
While managing Luton, the Hatters’ first win in the Premier League came against Crystal Palace directly following the international break in November.
It was a 2-1 win for Edwards back then, with Jacob Brown scoring the winner in the 83rd minute.
The hope at Molineux is he can kick off his time at the club by completing this bizarre coincidence and setting the club on a path towards Premier League survival.
However, Crystal Palace have recently been a bogey side for the Old Gold over the last nine meetings, and the Eagles have begun clawing back on the overall head-to-head table.
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Rob Edwards got the better of Crystal Palace in his last time managing in the Premier League
Sam Johnstone will have bad memories of that fixture
Interestingly, Sam Johnstone is another man who was involved in that fixture and is set to play a part this weekend.
The now Wolves number one was in goal for Crystal Palace, and it will be a day he will want to forget.
Luton managed just three shots on target, but they were able to score two goals from them. Both were scored just yards from the net, so it would be harsh to criticise him.
Nonetheless, no goalkeeper will be happy with ending the match with just one save and two goals scored against them.
Of course, it was Roy Hodgson in charge of the Eagles back then, and Edwards will face another challenge in trying to tactically outclass Oliver Glasner this time around.
However, the assist from Chiedozie Ogbene in that game may be something we could see Jackson Tchatchou do more often now under the new head coach.