Wolves are back in Premier League action today, and Aston Villa are the opponents at Molineux.
The international break is done and dusted, and Wanderers fans can’t wait for today’s kick-off at 3pm.
The 3-2 defeat to Leeds United a couple of weeks ago left a sour taste.
Wolves should never have let their 2-0 lead slip, even if Raul Jimenez was controversially sent off.
Hopefully today that result will be serving as the fuel for the Wolves players to get things back on track.
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Anything but a victory today will probably mean the end of any challenge for European football.
Aston Villa are in a good moment under Steven Gerrard and it could be a tough game. Especially with Wolves missing some key players.
Here’s a line up we could see come 2pm when the team news drops:
Predicted Wolves XI to face Aston Villa – Gomes, Cundle and Silva all start
Jose Sa, unused for Portugal during the international break, will take up his usual position.
Ahead of him, Conor Coady and Max Kilman will both likely be starting. Coady played 90 minutes for England against Switzerland, but then didn’t feature against Ivory Coast. Kilman was able to rest up, having been overlooked by Gareth Southgate.
Romain Saiss played two full games for Morocco and could be afforded a rest by Lage, as much as he probably wouldn’t want to.
Willy Boly also played a full game against France, and half a game against England, so Lage may not want to risk him given his fitness issues.
It would, therefore, be no surprise if we saw Toti Gomes back in the starting XI for the first time since the start of February.
Out wide, Jonny Castro Otto and Rayan Ait-Nouri should be the starters. Nelson Semedo is close to a return and might just be fit, but Spaniard Jonny deserves to keep his place regardless.
In midfield, the international exploits of Leander Dendoncker and Joao Moutinho, as well as the injury to Ruben Neves, could see young Luke Cundle start only his second Premier League game.
As Lage loves Moutinho, he could get the nod over Dendoncker if he’s feeling fit enough.
But teenager Cundle will be fresh and raring to go, and he deserves a chance after his fine display against Tottenham Hotspur.
In attack, Jimenez’s suspension will hopefully see Fabio Silva come into the side.
He scored for Portugal U21s against Greece and could be feeling confident. Lage has previously tried to use two wide players when Jimenez has been absent and it hasn’t really worked.
Francisco Trincao put in his best display in a Wolves shirt against Leeds. It would be good to see him keep his place and build on that performance.
And Daniel Podence really has to play. He’s probably been Wolves’ brightest attacker in 2022 so far. So with that, Hwang Hee-chan may have to settle for a place on the bench.
Wolves (3-4-3): Sa/Kilman, Coady, Gomes/Jonny, Cundle, Moutinho, Ait-Nouri/Trincao, Silva, Podence.