After last seasons heroics, expectations were rightfully high coming into the season. However, potentially due to the high volume of games Wolves have had to play so far, the results have been somewhat lacking.
The Europa League, and the Thursday-Sunday schedule is likely to have an effect on any team. But with Wolves’ small-squad that effect is magnified. Watching us play though it is clear that Wolves are playing well, and the wins will eventually come.
Arsenal:
For the second year in a row, Wolves came away from the Emirates feeling disappointed. A 1-1 draw felt like a defeat after outshooting the Gunners 24-10, and creating a number of good quality chances. Sloppy defending led to Aubameyang’s goal, but Wolves can take heart from the way they battled back to dominate the second half.
This was also the case away at Newcastle, where a poor first-half performance led to a formation change from Nuno. The 3-4-3 appears to be far more effective for us this season. It allows Neves to play higher up and have a greater impact on the game. It also lets us play Traore and Doherty together down the right, and the two have combined excellently in recent games.
Stats Don’t Lie:
Whilst Wolves sit 12th in the table after 11 games, the underlying statistics suggest we have been playing well. We are joint 7th in goals conceded with 14, and our 14 goals scored puts us 6th. There is also expected goals, which measures shot values based on shot-type and the position of strikers and defenders.
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This statistic suggests Wolves should be 8th in the league with 15 points, instead of our current 13. It also implies that Wolves have been slightly unlucky when finishing/conceding chances. This luck should improve over the season, meaning the wins will comes for Wolves.
Winnable Games:
Although Wolves still have a relentless schedule, and will be missing Boly for the foreseeable future, we should be hopeful of getting a few wins over the next month. After hosting Bratislava on Thursday, Villa come to Molineux for the last game before the international break.
Following this, Wolves face trips to Bournemouth and Braga before home games against Sheffield United and West Ham. Wolves will expecting to pick up points in all six of these games, and this is a perfect opportunity to climb up the table. Though the results have not been great so far, the performances (especially recently) have been. The wins will come for Wolves.