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WATCH OUR PREVIEW FOR ALL THE LATEST NEWS BEFORE WOLVES FACE BOURNEMOUTH

TEAM NEWS

Wolverhampton Wanderers hope to have Nelson Semedo back after he missed the Arsenal defeat due to a calf injury. Matheus Cunha is doing everything he can to be involved, while Jean-Ricner Bellegarde could also return following a knee issue.

Bournemouth have the same squad available from Saturday’s loss at Aston Villa. Marcus Tavernier, Tyler Adams and Ryan Fredericks remain sidelined.

GARY O'NEIL

Here are the headlines.

  • On Nottingham Forest’s X statement about their concerns surrounding officials and decisions: “It’s not for me to comment or tell Nottingham Forest how to handle their business. They can deal with their situations how they see fit and us as a club will decide how best to handle ours. In the main we have handled them well this season. There were frustrations around the recent West Ham one but apart from that we have handled them in a professional and respectful way.”

  • O’Neil continued: “Everyone is more than slightly frustrated, possibly, with VAR and officiating. I don’t want to sit here and criticise people and decisions, I’ve had my say on my own decisions and what can and can’t be better. It’s been in the spotlight this weekend with the very tight Coventry one, the Forest ones.”

  • Speaking about VAR, O’Neil said: “The technology doesn’t seem to have cleared things up as we hoped it would. I doubt very much they are considering removing it. I do think at a stage we’re at it’s a definite consideration. I’ve never been in that camp, I’ve always thought VAR would be a big benefit to the game. Maybe it hasn’t been as much of a benefit as much as I expected.”

  • On any thoughts on showing former club Bournemouth what they are missing: “Not at all. Zero. If you did that in football you’d constantly be competing with teams and people you left behind. You move on all the time. I’m pleased they are doing well and I think the whole football club has progressed fantastically well. If you look at the net spend, they are the fifth highest spenders in the league in the last two windows. We are in similar positions in the league but different situations. I’m fully focused on our situation.”

  • He continued: “I had an opportunity I enjoyed, a tough opportunity, people see Bournemouth as giving me a first shot at it. I was given an incredibly difficult task, the team had just lost 16-0 on aggregate over last three games. I managed to make a decent go of it, hence my opportunity at a big club like Wolves.”

  • Speaking about stopping Wolves’ season from ending poorly, O’Neil added: “It doesn’t just stop in the summer, these five games are a continuation on what we can do. It’s very difficult at the moment with the players we have out but there’s still lots to learn from that. We were willing to give everything against Arsenal at home and the performance showed there are no thoughts of people going on holiday. We’re still working to be the best team possible.”

  • Nelson Semedo could return from a calf injury, Matheus Cunha (calf) is still a doubt while Jean-Ricner Bellegarde is close to a return from a knee injury. O’Neil said: “I wouldn’t declare them fit yet but some have the opportunity. Nelson is looking better, Matheus Cunha is doing all he can to be involved. Bellegarde has had a good week and is doing much better. We’re going to look at them again on Wednesday.”

MATCH STATS & FACTS

Head-to-head

  • Bournemouth have won just one of the seven Premier League meetings, a 1-0 victory for Gary O’Neil’s Cherries at Molineux in February last year.
  • Wolves can win both league matches against Bournemouth in a season for the second time, after 2019-20 in the Premier League.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

  • Wolves are winless in six games in all competitions, following four victories in their previous five.
  • They could lose four successive home matches for the first time since February 2017 in the Championship.
  • Wolves can also fail to score in successive home fixtures for the first time in more than two years.
  • They are the only team in the top five European leagues yet to score from outside the penalty area, having made 134 unsuccessful attempts.
  • Hwang Hee-chan has failed to score in eight of his last nine Premier League appearances, including each of the last five.

Bournemouth

  • Bournemouth require only five points from their final five matches to surpass the club Premier League record of 46 set in 2016-17.
  • The Cherries need one more away win to match the club record of six in a season, set during their debut campaign in 2015-16.
  • Bournemouth have scored in 12 consecutive away league games for the first time since a run of 13 from January to August 2005 in the third tier.
  • Andoni Iraola’s side failed to net in only one of their 16 Premier League away fixtures this season, a 3-0 defeat at Everton in October.
  • Bournemouth have won five of their last six midweek Premier League matches, keeping four clean sheets in that run.
  • They have lost five Premier League matches when scoring the opening goal this season – only Brentford, with six, have lost more.
  • The Cherries have dropped 27 points from winning positions, second only to Brentford’s 30.
  • Dominic Solanke has scored 18 Premier League goals, with his nine away from home being the joint most by a Cherries player in a season, along with Josh King in 2016-17 and Callum Wilson in 2018-19.
  • Justin Kluivert has scored six Premier League goals, equalling the total his father Patrick Kluivert managed for Newcastle United in 2004-05.

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Stuart Attwell. Assistants: James Mainwaring, Nick Greenhalgh. Fourth official: Rob Jones. VAR: Darren England. Assistant VAR: Dan Robathan.

MATCH INFO

The match takes place on Wednesday 24th April at Molineux with a 7.45pm kick off time. 

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