WATCH FOUR OUR THOUGHT AHEAD OF WOLVES CRUCIAL MATCH WITH SOUTHAMPTON
TEAM NEWS
Vitor Pereira has a full squad to choose from with the exception of Matheus Cunha who is serving a suspension of this red card against Bournemouth.
Defender Jan Bednarek still felt pain on Tuesday following his clash of heads against Liverpool so it is unclear whether he will feature. Saints will also be without midfielder Will Smallbone, who has a groin injury.
VITOR PEREIRA
Here’s the latest news from Pereira’s press conference
Pereira said there are no other injury concerns, explaining that last week’s goalscorer Marshall Munetsi is “OK”, training with the team and “ready to help.”
On Munetsi whose goal capped an impressive performance against Everton: “He deserves it. He tries a lot but he’s a player that can score goals and appear in the box. He has this quality and we need goals to win.”
On what he’s learned about himself in the job so far: “Every day I’m learning. I surprise myself every day with the good things and bad things. The Premier League is a fantastic experience.”
He explained what he is aiming to build at Wolves: “I want to create something strong, step by step. When we arrived here, the first target was to be defensively more consistent, in tactical organisation and at set-pieces. After, [the next step was] to give different tools to the team to start to create chances to score. The third step is to understand the moments that we must go fast and the moments we need to keep the ball and have quality in possession. To control the game not only when defending but with the ball.”
He was also asked whether Wolves can improve their consistency even within a game: “This is something that we can work [on]. We can work on the mentality, the ambition, our anticipation and making the next move. If we have the ball, we need to anticipate the moment that we could lose it, which means our balance needs to be good, having the balance to react.”
On the upcoming international break and how it affects the suspended Matheus Cunha: “I hope the players come back without injuries and for Matheus it’s good because he has training to keep him fit.”
On relegation rivals Southampton: “Firstly, we must realise that they are fighting for the same target as us – to be in the Premier League next season. They played very well in the first half against Liverpool and that shows they have a good team with good players. If they are consistent, they are a very good team. I think the Premier League is about being consistent.”
MATCH STATS & FACTS
Having won their first two Premier League home games against Wolves in September 2003 and April 2019, Southampton have now lost each of their last four against them at St Mary’s.
Wolves have won each of their last six Premier League games against Southampton. It’s their longest winning run against an opponent in the competition, and their longest in top-flight games overall since between 1974 and 2018 against Burnley (7).
Southampton have lost each of their last eight home games in the Premier League by an aggregate score of 29-5. In English top-flight history, only three sides have ever lost 9+ in a row at home within a single season: Birmingham in 1985-86 (10), Wolves in 2011-12 (9), and Watford in 2021-22 (11).
After winning their first two Premier League games under Vítor Pereira in December, Wolves have won just two of their following 10 under the Portuguese (D2 L6).
Southampton have lost six Premier League games in which they scored the opening goal this season. In the competition’s history, only Southampton themselves and Blackburn Rovers in 1992-93 (both 7) have ever lost more after going 1-0 up in a single campaign.
Wolves have conceded from 15.3% of their shots faced in the Premier League this season, the highest share in the division. However, Southampton have the lowest shot conversion rate of any side this term (7.7%).
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Robert Jones. Assistants: Ian Hussin, Neil Davies. Fourth official: Gavin Ward. VAR: Michael Oliver. Assistant VAR:Craig Taylor.
MATCH INFO
This one kicks off at 3pm on Saturday 15th March at St Mary’s Stadium.