Wolves will be looking to continue their top-four push in the Premier League when they play hosts to Leicester City at the Molineux on Sunday afternoon.
Wolves have been on a superb run of form recently and have emerged as potential dark-horses to finish in the top four, alongside Manchester United, Arsenal, West Ham United and Tottenham. They ended a mini-slump by beating Tottenham 2-0 away last weekend after two consecutive defeats in all competitions, and seem to be finding their scoring boots at a pivotal stage of the season.
Bruno Lage’s side are enjoying a memorable campaign and have placed themselves in a strong position, currently sitting seventh with 37 points – just six points adrift of fourth-placed Manchester United with two games in hand. The Black Country outfit will be confident of getting a positive result at home against an out of sorts Leicester on Sunday.
In contrast, Leicester are merely a shadow of the side that achieved consecutive top-six finishes in the last two seasons. The Foxes are uncharacteristically in the bottom half of the table in 11th place, collecting just 27 of 66 available points so far. They have yet to win a Premier League game in 2022. They are conceding goals for fun and need to shore up at the back if they are to salvage anything from this season.
However, Brendan Rodgers’ side will enter this contest off the back of a morale-boosting 4-1 victory over Randers in the first leg of their UEFA Europa Conference League knockout playoff clash in midweek.
The reverse fixture played in August 2021 at the King Power Stadium saw Leicester eke out a narrow 1-0 victory over Wolves, with Jamie Vardy netting the only goal.
Team News & Tactics
Wolves
Wolves boss Bruno Lage has stated that Wolves have practically a clean bill of health, with long-term absentee Pedro Neto back in contention to feature, while Joao Moutinho has also successfully recovered from injury. Jonny and Hwang Hee-chan returned last weekend, whereas Yerson Mosquera and Willy Boly are also back available.
Jumping into the weekend like ✈️ pic.twitter.com/Se2VZudnus
— Wolves (@Wolves) February 19, 2022
Lage may revert to a 3-4-3 formation after utilizing a 3-5-2 against Tottenham, with Hwang Hee-chan replacing Luke Cundle in the starting XI. There is no looking past Jose Sa in goal for Wolves. The Portuguese shot-stopper has been sensational this term and boasts the best save percentage (85.2%) among the Premier League goalkeepers.
Along with Sa, Wolves’ formidable defensive line deserves much credit. Following last week’s highly impressive victory over Tottenham, Lage is expected to deploy the same back three comprising of Romain Saiss, Conor Coady and Max Kilman against a very potent Leicester attack.
Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho will form the midfield double-pivot as they look to dominate the battle in the middle of the park, with wing-back duo Rayan Ait-Nouri and Nelson Semedo offering width in attack. But they will have to pick their moments to surge forward carefully so as to keep Wolves in their diligent, compact defensive shape.
Raul Jimenez will look to build on his goal-scoring display against Tottenham last time out, spearheading the attack for the West Midlands outfit. Daniel Podence and Hee-chan will provide attacking support down the flanks. The return of Pedro Neto for the first time this season is a huge boost for Wolves, and the Portuguese winger will be vying to make an impact on the game off the bench.
Probable Lineup (3-4-3): Sa; Kilman, Coady, Saiss; Semedo, Moutinho, Neves, Ait-Nouri; Podence, Jimenez, Hee-chan
Leicester City
Unlike his counterpart in the Wolves dugout, Brendan Rodgers has plenty of fitness issues to contend with ahead of the trip to the Molineux. The Leicester boss will be without the services of at least six players, with both James Maddison and Caglar Soyuncu unlikely to be available for the Wolves game after being forced off in their 4-1 win over Randers on Thursday night.
We travel to Molineux Stadium in the #PL on Sunday ?#WolLei pic.twitter.com/0P0tO5sBhd
— Leicester City (@LCFC) February 19, 2022
Meanwhile, Timothy Castagne, Wesley Fofana, James Justin, Ryan Bertrand, Jamie Vardy and Jonny Evans all remain unavailable. Kasper Schmeichel should retain his place between the sticks for this game, with the Foxes lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him.
Rodgers could be forced to deploy Jannik Vestergaard and Daniel Amartey at the heart of the Leicester backline due to injuries. Ricardo Pereira and Luke Thomas will be the two full-backs, with the former usually marauding forward to provide added threat utilising his pace.
Up ahead in midfield, Youri Tielemans will be Leicester’s chief creative outlet in the absence of James Maddison. The Belgian will look to push Leicester forward with intent and precision while also supporting Wilfred Ndidi defensively in the middle of the park.
Ademola Lookman will pose a direct threat down the right flank, whereas Harvey Barnes will provide the creative impetus to carve out openings from the left. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has been one of the very few bright spots for Leicester and will operate in the number ten role just behind the rapid Patson Daka, who will once again spearhead the Foxes’ attack.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Schmeichel; Pereira, Amartey, Vestergaard, Thomas; Tielemans, Ndidi; Lookman, Dewsbury-Hall, Barnes; Daka
Key Stats
- Leicester are unbeaten in their last five Premier League games against Wolves (D3 W2) without conceding a single goal in the process.
- Wolves have conceded an average of just 0.74 goals per game – the second-best defensive record in the division, only behind Manchester City.
- Wolves have won four of their last five Premier League matches (L1).
- Leicester have kept a clean sheet in each of their last five games against Wolves in all competitions.
- Wolves have only won once in their last five top-flight home games (D2 L2), breezing past Southampton 3-1 last month.
Player to Watch
Max Kilman
Max Kilman has continued his progression from last season and has been an absolute revelation on the right side of Bruno Lage’s three-man defence. Despite being left-footed, he has appeared to be at ease in the position and has so far started every single game across all competitions, except for one league match against Watford, indicating his instrumental role in their success.
The 24-year-old’s ability to bring the ball effectively out of defence is crucial to the fluid passing style under Lage. At the same time, he is robust in defensive actions and regularly puts his body on the line time and time again. He will again be looking to make vital contributions for his side here to keep knocking on Gareth Southgate’s door for an England call-up.
Prediction
Wolves 1-0 Leicester City
The hosts have battled for consistency at home this season, but Bruno Lage’s side are a tough nut to crack and rarely concede goals, having kept 11 clean sheets. For all their defensive resilience, Wolves lack creativity in the final third and have scored the third-lowest number of goals in the division.
On the other hand, Leicester have will be looking to build on their midweek victory, but have to deal with injuries to multiple key players, while they are yet to win a league game in 2022. Hence, the Hard Tackle predicts Wolves to come out on top with a narrow 1-0 win at home to inflict further pain on Leicester.
