Wolves are firmly in the mix to finish in Europe this season and their chances of doing so have just increased.
If anyone had mentioned Wolves as contenders for Europe at the start of the 23/24 campaign, many would have laughed.
That is the position that the Wanderers find themselves in after 28 matches played in the Premier League, largely thanks to the work of Gary O’Neil.
The 40-year-old had a matter of days to organise his side before the season kicked off and the majority felt that the squad he inherited wasn’t good enough to compete.
After Wolves experienced a summer maligned by FFP constraints and selling their star players, Julen Lopetegui felt he had no other choice but to walk out of Molineux.
At the time, talks of a relegation battle were rife but fast forward seven months and Wolves are sat in ninth position, two points behind seventh-place West Ham United.
Wolves receive a significant boost in their pursuit of European qualification
Wolves’ chances of finishing in Europe could be boosted by England finishing in the top two of the coefficient rankings.
The rankings are determined by how well a country’s teams do in European tournaments.
Currently, Arsenal and Manchester City are thorough to the Champions League quarter-finals. West Ham and Liverpool went through in the Europa League while Brighton were knocked out.
Aston Villa are in the quarters of the Conference League while Manchester United and Newcastle were knocked out of the UCL after finishing bottom of their groups.
As of March 15, England are second to Germany and Italy in the coefficient rankings but after West Ham thrashed Freiburg in the Europa League, England are firm favourites to get the extra Champions League place with five teams still left in Europe.
This has ramifications for Wolves because England gaining an extra UCL place will mean the Wanderers can finish as low as eighth and still qualify for European football.
Wolves in Europe is very much possible
After Liverpool beat Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final and West Ham thrashed Freiburg in the Europa League, Wolves have a great chance of finishing eighth and earning a spot in the Conference League.
With 10 games still left to play, O’Neil’s men are a solitary point behind eighth-place Brighton and only two adrift of the Hammers in seventh.
Meanwhile, winning the FA Cup also guarantees the Wanderers a spot in the Europa League group stage as their chances of achieving something remarkable have just been increased by Matheus Cunha returning to training.
At the start of the campaign, Europe wasn’t in anyone’s thinking, but now supporters can begin to dream of it becoming a reality.