Wolves crashed out of the FA Cup after losing to Bournemouth on penalties in the fifth round. The Old Gold’s focus is now solely on remaining in the Premier League.
Vitor Pereira named a strong Wolves team to take on Bournemouth. The Old Gold were looking to beat the Cherries for the second time in as many weekends after claiming a recent 1-0 victory in the league.
Unfortunately, despite Matheus Cunha scoring one of the best goals of the season, the forward’s afternoon ended on a bad note. Cunha was shown a straight red card for violently clashing with Milos Kerkez.
Vitor Pereira makes Matheus Cunha revelation following striker’s red card
There’s no denying it — Cunha has carried the Wolves first team the entire season. It doesn’t bear thinking about where Wolves would be without his 13 Premier League goals.
And although his actions on Saturday at the Vitality Stadium were inexcusable, Pereira has been quick to defend his star man for getting caught up in an ’emotional’ and ‘high pressured’ match.
The Wolves manager also revealed Cunha has been carrying a hamstring injury for several weeks, suggesting he has chosen to play through the pain to help the team.
Forced to rest
Cunha’s three-match ban means he’ll be unavailable for Wolves’ next set of Premier League matches. The South American will miss Everton (H), Southampton (A) and West Ham (H).
The biggest concern for Pereira will be who can replace Cunha — the answer is no one — but the Portuguese boss must find a way.
Jorgen Strand Larsen had a game to forget against Bournemouth with Goncalo Guedes out with a knee injury. This could open the door for Carlos Forbs to come in but that seems unlikely after Pereira revealed Forbs is ‘uncomfortable’ with Wolves’ tactics.
Hwang Hee-chan is back from injury and is the most obvious choice to replace Cunha, but fans certainly won’t feel confident the struggling South Korean can produce the goods.
On the plus side, maybe Cunha’s absence isn’t a bad thing if he’s been carrying a muscle problem for nearly a month.
The striker now has no choice but to rest up, and a refreshed Cunha is a frightening prospect for any club looking to derail the side’s chances of staying in the Premier League.