Thousands of Wolves fans have descended on Barcelona over the last few days to witness the second leg of the last 32 tie against Espanyol.
Reports were made at the start of the week regarding fears of coronavirus reaching the city of Barcelona. Wolves fans have been “urged to travel with caution and encouraged to comply with any additional screening measures put in place by local authorities”.
However, this has not stopped Wolves fans from filling the streets with their chants and song.
Ahead of the Match:
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Wolves are in a strong position going into the second leg after winning the first clash 4-0.
Both teams have faced a league game over the course of the weekend ahead of tonight’s fixture.
Wolves enjoyed a comfortable 3-0 win over Norwich, which will set them up nicely for their fixture ahead. Espanyol lost 2-1 to Valladolid on Sunday, which means they still remain bottom of La Liga.
With Espanyol resting players for last week’s match it will be interesting to see whether boss Abelardo Fernandez will take the same approach today or whether their focus will be to gain a result.
Wolves Selection:
Nuno Espirito Santo has the opportunity to rest some of his star players, as Wolves lead 4-0 on aggregate.
Nuno remains in great position, in that all but one of his players are fit and have all travelled. The line-up that he will choose ahead of the second leg has been under much question.
Jonny Otto has stayed at Compton after he picked up a small injury to his ankle against Norwich on Sunday.
Wolves must not forget what is perhaps an equally important fixture against Tottenham Hotspur next weekend away at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Nuno may take this into consideration when deciding his line-up for this second-leg fixture.
Reuben Vinagre made his return to the team against Norwich on Sunday. His presence is needed more this evening due to the absence of Jonny Castro Otto.
New year singing Daniel Podence is yet to have started for Wolves this season and, as he travels to Barcelona, it will be questioned whether Nuno will give him his time to shine.
As well as Podence, Leonardo Campana has also travelled with the squad. Looking to make his Wolves debut, Campana may be a strong option of replacement for goal scorer Raul Jimenez.
Wolves have now had four clean sheets on the bounce. Although John Ruddy has featured in two of Wolves Europa games, Nuno may not want to disrupt this and so stay safe with Rui Patricio.
5-3-2 has been successful for Wolves in recent games, will it remain this evening?