watch our preview wolves v southampton
team news
Wolves’ new £15million signing from Stuttgart, 6ft 7in Austrian striker Sasa Kalajdzic, could make his debut.
Midfielder Boubacar Traore awaits his first appearance after joining on loan from Metz, he wil join the team for training next week.
Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia could be out for six weeks after suffering a muscle strain in midweek against Chelsea.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Duje Caleta-Car could come into contention after joining on deadline day.
head to head
predicted line up
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bruno Lage
Here are the key lines from his news conference conference:
Lage confirmed new striker Sasa Kalajdzic will be in the squad to face Saints, but Boubacar Traore is still waiting for his visa so will join his team-mates next week.
The Wolves boss was full of praise for Traore. He said the midfielder is “strong to build the game, strong at recovering”, adding: “He can give us a big impact in that part of the pitch.”
Lage said the departure of Leander Dendoncker was “for the best for the club and the player”, though added he would have kept him given the choice.
As has been a recurring theme this season Lage maintained that patience is needed at Molineux: “The fans had patience to rebuild the squad. Now they need patience for them to adapt to a new club and the intensity of the Premier League.”
Wolves have scored just two goals so far this season, but Lage insists that the quality of the performance is imperative: “If you are playing well with a good performance – every game we are creating chances – we need to put the ball in the net.”
On his side’s failure to win in August, he said he is aware there is a pattern: “The last five years we didn’t win any games in August. Three with Nuno and two with me.”
match facts
Head-to-head
- Wolves have won their last three Premier League games against Southampton, and four of the last five.
- Southampton have not won an away match at Wolves in their last six attempts – their last Molineux victory was a 6-0 triumph in the Championship in March 2007.
Wolves
- Wolves have drawn their last three Premier League home games, including one from last season.
- They are also winless in 12 Premier League fixtures, which is the longest current run by any side in the top flight.
- Wolves have scored just twice this season and both were opening goals in games they failed to win – the defeat to Leeds and the draw with Newcastle.
Southampton
- Southampton’s win at Leicester offers them the chance to record back-to-back top-flight away wins for the first time since June 2020.
- Saints have not kept a clean sheet on the road in the league in their last 16 attempts, equalling their longest such streak in the Premier League.
- Since the beginning of last season, James Ward-Prowse has netted 10 of his 11 Premier League goals in away matches. Only Mohamed Salah (13) and Harry Kane (12) have scored as many top-flight away goals in that time period.
match officials
Referee: John Brooks. Assistants: Marc Perry, Matthew Wilkes. Fourth official: Steve Martin. VAR: Tony Harrington. Assistant VAR: Steve Meredith.
match info
Match kicks off at 3pm at Molineux on Saturday 3rd September.