Wolves finally begin their Premier League campaign this evening against Manchester United, against a backdrop of chaos at the club.
Wanderers saw Julen Lopetegui leave the club on Tuesday, having grown tired of the club’s financial struggles.
Lopetegui decided after the Celtic game he wanted to go, but stayed to manage the pre-season friendlies against Luton Town and Rennes.
In the meantime, Wolves assessed potential replacements – and decided to appoint Gary O’Neil as their new head coach.
His arrival has not really filled everyone with hope. But fans will undoubtedly get behind him as he seeks to provide stability.
O’Neil has a huge job on his hands, but sporting director Matt Hobbs believes he is up to the task.
But it’s a very tough start tonight for the 40-year-old, and here’s a team he could go with at Old Trafford…
Predicted Wolves XI to face Manchester United – Fabio Silva to start at Old Trafford
It is perhaps the hardest starting XI to predict all season.
Ultimately, no one really knows what O’Neil is thinking ahead of this game.
He has just stepped through the door, having not even taken a game in pre-season.
It’s been suggested he likes a 4-4-2 and also a 4-2-3-1, but that he does tend to match up the opposition if they go with a three at the back with wing-backs.
Jose Sa is probably a pretty sure-fire pick.
But then after the goalkeeper, literally anyone could feature this evening.
Maybe he’ll seek to use the team Lopetegui was using mainly from the start in pre-season, with a few alterations.
So, a back four of Nelson Semedo, Craig Dawson, Max Kilman and then Rayan Ait-Nouri could get the nod over Hugo Bueno, with the Algerian having looked very good recently.
In midfield, Mario Lemina and Joao Gomes are a pretty likely pairing.
And on the wings, Hwang Hee-chan may get the nod on the left. The South Korean has looked really lively of late and is a good counter threat. It could be important to have that tonight, with United likely to have most of the ball.
There could be a temptation to play Pedro Neto on the left. But it feels like £14 million star Hwang just nudged ahead of him towards pre-season.
And on the right it could be Matheus Nunes with license to drift inside.
Up top, Matheus Cunha is probably a good bet to start, and many Wolves fans would love to see Fabio Silva get a chance.
Silva has come back to the club after spending 2022/23 out on loan and looked sharp.
Many fans want it to work for him, and he’s looked good working with Cunha.
O’Neil has already said that he’s pleased with Silva, having seen in him training. So maybe he could play from the start.
This would be a bold line up from O’Neil. But since this an away game against a top Premier League side, it would be no surprise to see him add Toti Gomes to make a back three, and sacrifice someone like Silva and just go with Cunha up top.
Wolves supporters are really not expecting too much tonight. But who knows, perhaps the lack of expectation will work in O’Neil’s favour, and the players will pull something out of the bag.
Wolves (4-4-2): Sa/Semedo, Dawson, Kilman, Ait-Nouri/Nunes, Lemina, Gomes, Hwang/Cunha, Silva.