Wolves face Chelsea in the Carabao Cup tonight and the game offers an opportunity to quickly bounce back after the shocking defeat to Burnley in the Premier League.
Wolves fans were left fuming after the loss on Sunday, and the pressure has now cranked up on Vitor Pereira.
Pereira’s job is safe for the time being, but a defeat to Chelsea and/or Fulham will surely give the board a big decision to make.
But tonight it’s back to the Carabao Cup for Wolves, who have looked a lot better in this competition.
Wins over West Ham United and Everton have got Wolves to this point, and Chelsea are in town tonight at Molineux.
Enzo Maresca has said he will rotate and that potentially gives Wolves an opportunity. But it will still be a very tough game given their depth.
Here are three bold predictions ahead of tonight’s clash.
Mateus Mane gets his first minutes of the season for Wolves
Last night, Mateus Mane did not feature for Wolves’ U21s against PSV Eindhoven.
Fans have been clamouring to see Mane in the first-team, but so far Pereira has been reluctant to use the youngster.
Pereira talked Mane up last week though, so perhaps an inclusion is finally on the horizon.
It would be bold of Pereira to hand him minutes against a top side like Chelsea, but given the creativity issues and lack of bite up top, Mane may well have some sort of involvement tonight.
Tolu Arokodare starts and scores
Tolu Arokodare thinks a win against Chelsea would provide a huge confidence boost, and the Nigerian striker may well start tonight’s game.
We have not seen a great deal of him since his £24 million move from Genk, but Pereira might throw him in from the start tonight for a couple of reasons.
Jorgen Strand Larsen continues to struggle to make an impact, and the manager may use tonight as an opportunity to rest the Norwegian amid his ongoing fitness issues. That said, Strand Larsen recently suggested he was almost fully fit.
Arokodare already has a goal to his name in this competition, having scored in superb fashion in the last round against Everton.
Wolves have spent too much money on this player for him not to at least be starting Carabao Cup games, so tonight we feel he’ll start – and also get himself on the scoresheet again.
Fer Lopez inspires a Wolves win
Pereira has been reluctant to use Lopez recently, but maybe the Wolves manager will give him a chance tonight.
Lopez played against West Ham United in the second round, and we’ve seen glimpses of creativity from the young Spaniard – and Wolves are certainly crying out for a bit of that right now.
He needs a chance, and there could be no better time to start him than tonight against Chelsea.
Wolves need a creative spark, and Lopez will be champing at the bit to try and make an impact.
We are boldly predicting that Lopez will not only start tonight, but that this is the game he announces himself as a Wolves player and inspires the team to a morale-boosting victory at Molineux with his best performance to date.