Rodrigo Gomes has spoken highly about one of his Wolves teammates ahead of the clash against Aston Villa.
Wolves host Aston Villa in a crucial Premier League fixture on Saturday evening. The Old Gold are currently in 18th position, one point adrift of safety, while Villa are in eighth and chasing down a European place.
Vitor Pereira is expected to make several changes to the Wolves side that lost 1-0 against Arsenal, with some of them enforced.
Jorgen Strand Larsen is out for two to three weeks after sustaining a hamstring injury last weekend and Joao Gomes faces a one-match suspension following his red card.
Tommy Doyle and Hwang Hee-chan are two of the prime candidates to replace the influential Wolves duo while wing-back Rodrigo Gomes is also vying for a start.
Rodrigo Gomes praises ‘unbelievable’ Matheus Cunha
Gomes has started three Premier League games since Pereira tookover in December, netting his first goal in the 3-0 victory over Leicester City.
The 21-year-old has flourished as a wing-back but in recent games has had to battle Rayan Ait-Nouri and Nelson Semedo for a place in the starting lineup.
Ahead of the clash against Villa, Gomes arguably deserves to start over Ait-Nouri, whose performance levels have dropped.
It would be a bold selection call from Pereira, although it’s merited, with the Portuguese star offering an infectious energy on the pitch.
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With Gomes hoping to be selected for this game, the youngster has spoken before the fixture about several topics, including his thoughts on talisman Matheus Cunha.
Speaking via the Wolves’ official website, the Portugal under-21 star dubbed his Brazilian teammate who they signed for £44m as ‘unbelievable’ while praising several of his traits.
“Matheus Cunha is unbelievable,” Gomes said. “He’s a very creative player, and sometimes he has the ball with a lot of players around him, and he can go and create a chance – make an assist, make a goal – and he is very good for us.
“It’s good to have a player like this because in every minute, he could score a goal if he had a chance. He has very good shooting, very good passing, he is very intelligent with the ball, so it’s very good to have players like this.”
Rodrigo Gomes’ stats for Wolves
Gomes was rarely used when Gary O’Neil was in charge and the Englishman didn’t see him as an answer to their current problems.
However, the versatile talent has arguably proven his former manager wrong, especially with some of the solid metrics he’s producing.
| Rodrigo Gomes Premier League stats 2024/25 | Statistic |
| Starts | 6 |
| Goals | 1 |
| Big chances created | 3 |
| Key passes | 0.6 |
| Tackles per game | 1.1 |
| Ground duels won per game | 1.5 (53%) |
In a summer that saw Wolves sign Carlos Forbs, who could be recalled by Ajax, along with the questionable addition of Sam Johnstone, Gomes is joined by Strand Larsen and Andre as rare highlights from an underwhelming list of transfers.