Lopetegui should hand Matheus Cunha his first Wolves start against Forest
Liverpool v Wolverhampton Wanderers: Emirates FA Cup Third Round
Photo by Jack Thomas - WWFC/Wolves via Getty Images

Lopetegui should hand Matheus Cunha his first Wolves start against Forest

Wolves are taking on Nottingham Forest this evening in the quarter-final of the Carabao Cup – and it could be time for Matheus Cunha to finally start.

Julen Lopetegui is ready for his second game in the competition. He oversaw a 2-0 win over Gillingham in the previous round.

Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images

Fans are feeling optimistic about the contest, following a really good showing against Liverpool on Saturday.

Wolves were the better side against the Reds at Anfield in the FA Cup match.

It was only because of one shambolic decision that Wolves did not win.

Confidence should be high heading into this one. And it will be very interesting to see what kind of team Lopetegui goes with.

Fans wouldn’t be too downbeat to see a similar XI to the one that started against Liverpool.

Perhaps one change the manager might be thinking about is Matheus Cunha coming in for his first start.

The Brazilian has been named on the bench for his first two matches against Aston Villa and Liverpool.

Photo by Jack Thomas – WWFC/Wolves via Getty Images

Against the Reds, he came on in the second-half – along with Matheus Nunes and Hwang Hee-chan – and made a decisive impact.

Hwang drove at the defence and found Cunha, who returned him the ball for the finish.

It was a lively display from Cunha, who also might have had a penalty for a barge in the back.

Arguably, Raul Jimenez didn’t really show a great deal when he was on. So Lopetegui should consider deploying Cunha from the off.

Matheus Cunha feels ready to start for Wolves against Nottingham Forest, after two games on the bench

So Cunha has made a couple of cameo appearances now for Wolves.

Maybe it’s time for Lopetegui to unleash him from the beginning of a game.

Costa is apparently a doubt for tonight’s game, and Jimenez unfortunately didn’t offer a great deal against Liverpool.

Photo by Jack Thomas – WWFC/Wolves via Getty Images

It just feels like a good time for Cunha to come in, off the back of a positive display.

Maybe Goncalo Guedes could play right up top, with Cunha operating just off of him as is supposedly his best position.