Wolves are back in action this Saturday with an away trip to Sunderland.
The Premier League is slowly creeping up on the horizon, and the first game back is a massive one for Wolves.
Sunderland have flown out of the gates to start the season, while Vitor Pereira’s side have not.
Despite that fact, the only way to approach this game is as a must-win. Wolves need to start putting points on the board and prevent the gap from widening further.
With that in mind, Pereira has a call to make that could be the difference between getting a result and leaving the Stadium of Light empty-handed.
Vitor Pereira needs to choose a right winger
Now that Pereira has deployed a more traditional back four system, the roles and responsibilities have changed.
The width now needs to come from the forwards, since the wing-backs have dropped into the defensive line. Jhon Arias should be a lock for the left flank. He prefers playing out wide and has started to show glimpses of creative quality.
But on the opposite side, there is no obvious choice. The position is quite different from the right-sided 10 role of the previous formation, and requires more pace and directness.
There are three young Wolves attackers who could do a job. Fer Lopez, Rodrigo Gomes, and academy product Mateus Mane.
Who gets the nod
A quick case for each.
Fer Lopez was brought in for this purpose, to provide playmaking and a spark up front. The 21-year-old has shown signs of becoming that player for Wolves, silky and elegant on the ball, with a willingness to try things.
We here at Molineux News have been petitioning for Pereira to call up Mateus Mane to the first team. He has scored more than any Wolves forward this season and at 18, he’s ready to take that next step. Mane offers pace and explosiveness as well as having a keen eye for goal.
Last, but not least, we have Rodrigo Gomes. Pereira is yet to start the Portuguese wing-back in the front line this season, but he did so last campaign to great effect. Gomes has two goals already for Wolves despite limited minutes.
He is a threat and a workhorse, and with little chance of him starting in a back four, this might be the solution to keeping his contributions alive.
That’s who we think Pereira should go with. Gomes has earned as much.
This would be the first time Pereira uses him as an attacker this season, something that is surely worth a try. Mane should be brought up to the senior team and he and Lopez can serve as attack-minded substitutions in games that call for more firepower.