Wolves captain Toti Gomes now finds himself in a peculiar position.
On Saturday, Wanderers came so close to winning their first Premier League game of the season against Tottenham Hotspur.
Santiago Bueno had put Wolves ahead. And after managing the game really well, Wolves were seconds away from a much-needed victory.
But Joao Palhinha scored right at the death for Spurs, meaning just one point for Wolves. It was a devastating end to the contest for the visitors.
But it capped off a relatively positive week on the whole, with Wolves having looked much better against Spurs and Everton.
Interestingly, the option of a back four is very possible now for Wolves, with Pereira changing things up for the past two games.
Against Everton and Spurs, Toti Gomes was relegated to the bench – and there are two players right now who could be a big problem for him.
Toti Gomes’ starting prospects now in doubt thanks to Wolves duo
Since Pereira came to Wolves, Toti has pretty much started every game he’s been available for.
The manager has previously talked up how Toti brings natural balance to Wolves, and the Portugal international has been one of his favourites.
But all of a sudden, it’s not looking so rosy for Toti.
Toti only really plays on the left of a back three these days, and now, Ladislav Krejci has excelled in that position. The Czech international can also play in midfield, but if Pereira goes with a back four then that is less likely – one of Jean-Ricner Bellegarde or Marshall Munetsi would likely be the third midfielder.
Krejci is also now a bona fide option to play on the left of a three, too.
We have seen Toti play as a left-back in a four in the past.
But there will be no joy there at the moment, with Hugo Bueno having been one of Wolves’ best players this season.
Bueno looks strong there when Wolves are playing with a back four, and there is not a chance Toti would play as a left wing-back over Bueno if Pereira went with a back five.
Toti must improve for Wolves
It is an interesting situation now for Toti.
He was perhaps one of the most nailed-on starters before a ball was kicked this season – especially after he was handed the club captaincy.
But perhaps that captaincy has weighed too heavy for Toti, because his performances have left a lot to be desired. For as much talk as there’s been about Emmanuel Agbadou, Toti has also struggled.
He was deservedly benched against Everton and Spurs, and now faces a real fight to get back in – certainly, Krejci and Bueno will not make it easy.
The emergence of Krejci is the main hurdle for Toti. And Pereira has praised Krejci several times already, indicating that he will continue starting.
That all said, we know that Toti is humble and hardworking, and he’ll hopefully knuckle down to try and get back to where he was previously.
Toti himself has talked up having strong competition at Wolves, even for his own position, and now he must react.