Wolves are preparing to take on Nottingham Forest on Monday night but Vitor Pereira will be without one key player.
Having taken seven points from a possible nine in their last three games, the Old Gold will enter Matchday 20 as one of the country’s most in-form sides.
Beating Nuno Espirito Santo’s Tricky Trees will not be easy though. Forest are in superb form themselves and vying for a place in next season’s Champions League.
The task has been made harder by Matheus Cunha’s two-game suspension. The striker will miss the Forest game and Wolves’ FA Cup third-round tie against Bristol City.
Matheus Cunha leaves Wolves for personal reasons
Even though Cunha will not be eligible to play on Monday, he also won’t be in the Molineux stands.
Pereira has confirmed the club have allowed the striker to travel back to Brazil to resolve a ‘personal problem’.
Speaking in his press conference ahead of Monday’s match, the Wolves boss said: “I used to say that I give credit to my players, I have credit in my pocket, and I give credit to them. And they must pay me the credit (back), this is the commitment I want to have with my players.
“You can create the confidence if you give to me, something I give to you. It means that I start to trust you and you start to trust me, this is the easy way to commit with them and them with me.
“It means if you come to me with a personal problem and you ask, because you are out, if it’s possible to solve this then OK, no problem. I go to my pocket and I give him the credit and after, I have a credit to receive. This is the commitment.
“He has personal problems to solve. I must understand the reason and the time, after it’s my decision. I decided to give him the time to solve the problem.”
Cunha absence gives Jorgen Strand Larsen chance to shine
Although Jorgen Strand Larsen has already started 18 Premier League matches this season, he will be expected to fill the double-digit goal contributions void left by Cunha.
The 24-year-old Norwegian, who will return to Celta Vigo at the end of the campaign, has only managed one goal in his last six outings and will be desperate to improve that record. Strand Larsen’s recent goal against Spurs did earn him a lot of praise though.
Nevertheless, following four consecutive draws, it’s fair to say there hasn’t been much to separate Wolves and Forest in recent times — the matchup is finely poised for someone to step up and make a name for themselves — and that could very well be Strand Larsen.
Since the start of the season, Wolves’ on-loan number nine has netted seven goals in 20 games in all competitions.