TEAM NEWS
Wolves are without midfielder Matheus Nunes, who is serving a one-match ban after being sent off last weekend. Head coach Gary O’Neil has no fresh injury concerns and could hand a start to Hwang Hee-chan after his goal from the bench against Brighton.
Everton will be without forward Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who suffered a facial injury in the defeat to Aston Villa. Alex Iwobi faces several weeks on the sidelines with a hamstring injury while Youssef Chermiti is not yet match-fit.
GARY O'NEIL
Here are the main lines from his news conference:
Matheus Nunes has been linked with a move to Manchester City but he is seen as an “important player” for Wolves: “He’s got four or potentially five years left on his contract. He’s obviously suspended for this weekend but we rejected a bid because we didn’t feel it met our valuation of what Matheus is worth to us. So, we move on.”
With one week left until the transfer window closes, O’Neil clarified Wolves’ transfer position: “I don’t think people leaving are the only way that people will be arriving. There’s things going on and we’re hoping to add and make things a little bit stronger. We’re trying to be active in the market, within our budget and what suits the club.”
He said there is no extra emphasis being put on the Everton game after both teams had a poor start: “I don’t agree with it being a ‘big game’. I don’t think it’s bigger than any other game that we’ve played so far, or the one that we’ll play the following week. There’s probably 34 games to go before you can start talking about some games being bigger than others.”
O’Neil is “keen to deliver his messages through the team and the performances” as he believes that is what supporters will be “interested in”.
The key to a successful season will be supporters “getting behind the group” and “everybody pushing in the right direction”.
MATCH STATS & FACTS
Head-to-head
- Everton are winless in their last four Premier League games against Wolves (D1, L3).
- Wolves are aiming to win three consecutive away matches against Everton for the first time.
Everton
- Everton could lose their opening three matches of a league campaign for the first time since 1990-91.
- All four of Everton’s Premier League home wins under Sean Dyche have been by a 1-0 scoreline.
- Everton have scored multiple goals in only one of their past 20 Premier League home matches, and in none of the previous 14.
- Sean Dyche has lost only one of his 12 league matches as a manager against Wolves (W5, D6).
- Neal Maupay has failed to score in his past 29 games in all competitions.
Wolves
- Wolves could lose their opening three games of a Premier League season for a second time in the last three campaigns.
- They are winless in their past nine Premier League away games (D2, L7), and could lose six away league games in a row for the first time since 2011.
- They could fail to score in five consecutive top-flight away games for the first time since 1981.
- Wolves have kept only one clean sheet in their last 24 Premier League away matches, and none in their last 17.
- Since returning to the top flight in 2018, Wolves have scored all of their 16 Premier League penalties.
- Hwang Hee-chan has scored each of Wolves’ last two Premier League goals – against Everton last season and against Brighton last weekend.
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Andy Madley. Assistants: James Mainwaring, Nick Hopton. Fourth official: Dean Whitestone. VAR: Peter Bankes. Assistant VAR: Steve Meredith.
MATCH INFO
The match will kick off at 3pm on Saturday26th August at Goodison Park.