After recently suffering their 14th Premier League defeat of the season, Wolves are now embroiled in a relegation battle.
Wolves lost 3-1 away to Chelsea on Monday night. The result handed Vitor Pereira a third consecutive league defeat and one that plunged his side into a frantic race for survival.
The Old Gold sit precariously above the drop zone, separated from Ipswich Town only by goals scored.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 16 |  EvertonEverton | 21 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 18 | 28 | -10 | 20 |
| 17 |  WolvesWolves | 22 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 32 | 51 | -19 | 16 |
| 18 |  IpswichIpswich | 22 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 20 | 43 | -23 | 16 |
Pereira must find a way to start picking up points again. Wolves’ next three fixtures are some of the hardest, though — the side will host Arsenal (Jan 25) and rivals Aston Villa (Feb 1) before they travel to Anfield to play leaders Liverpool (Feb 16).
Despite the magnitude of the side’s upcoming games, the Wolves manager has been warned that one player may need to be dropped due to tiredness and a lack of confidence.
Jorgen Strand Larsen suffering from lack of confidence
Striker Jorgen Strand Larsen has been a mainstay in the Wolves first team all season.
He has started nearly every Premier League match but has struggled to find the back of the net recently. Strand Larsen’s last goal came during a 2-2 draw against Tottenham back in December.
| Jorgen Strand Larsen in EPL | Statistic |
| Apps | 22 |
| Starts | 21 |
| Goals | 7 |
| Assists | 2 |
| Yellow cards | 2 |
| Red cards | 0 |
And Wolves reporter Liam Keen thinks the 24-year-old’s woes are due to the demands being placed on him, which are, in turn, damaging his confidence in front of goal.
“He works hard. I don’t think it’s from a lack of effort,” Keen said on The Keen and Judah Show.
“These last few games have been below par […] he does look isolated, he does look tired and maybe it’s too easy to say [a lack of] confidence. It does feel like the weight of those chances are weighing heavily on him a little bit at the moment.
“When you don’t have players around him that are performing to their very best, I feel like we don’t get the best out of Larsen as well. I feel he does need a helping hand as well.”
Keen’s assessment is fair. The pressure on Strand Larsen to be his side’s source of goals is on par with Matheus Cunha.
The problem for Strand Larsen, like Cunha, is that Pereira doesn’t have many other options available.
Lack of squad depth a major concern
Short of attacking options, Pereira will find it hard to replace Strand Larsen.
“He looks like a player who needs taking out for a game or two but Wolves don’t have the luxury of replacing him with a like-for-like number nine,” Keen added.
“[…] So that’s my biggest concern; you’re not going to have someone to replace him but he does look like he needs a little bit of a rest.”
The Norwegian forward is Wolves’ only recognised number nine — Cunha can fill in up top, but the speculation surrounding his future at Molineux makes for poor timing.
Excluding the out-of-form Hwang Hee-chan, other possible replacements for Strand Larsen include Goncalo Guedes and Carlos Forbs — although Forbs doesn’t appear to be in Pereira’s plans.