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TEAM NEWS
Wolves midfielder Mario Lemina sustained a minor hamstring problem on Saturday and will be assessed. Wolves head coach Julen Lopetegui said another player has “a little problem” but wouldn’t name him.
Sam Johnstone will again start in goal for Crystal Palace despite the return from injury of Vicente Guaita, who was an unused substitute at the weekend. Wilfried Zaha and Nathaniel Clyne are expected back in training later this week as they near a comeback.
JULEN LOPETEGUI
Mario Lemina’s injury “is not as severe as we first thought” and he will be assessed again on Tuesday.
Another player has a “little problem”, but Lopetegui didn’t want to name him until he knows more.
On what will be key for Wolves to bounce back from the defeat at Leicester City, he said: “You have to play well, defend well.”
He doesn’t want players to dwell on Saturday’s loss and said: “The past is the past and the future is the future. We try to forget all the things and focus on tomorrow’s match.”
Lopetegui said the atmosphere created by Wolves fans “is going to be key” and “we have to feel this spirit and energy”.
He said the Palace game “will be a very hard fight and we have to be ready” against a side guided by the “legendary” Roy Hodgson.
match facts & stats
Head-to-head
- Crystal Palace have earned four straight Premier League wins over Wolves. They’ve only once beaten a team five times in a row in the top flight, against Wimbledon from 1989 to 1991.
- Wolves have lost four of the past seven home league meetings.
Wolverhampton Wanderers
- Wolves have won five of their seven Premier League home matches in 2023 and could earn three straight victories at Molineux in the competition for only the second time, having done so in November 2021.
- They have kept a clean sheet in all seven of their home league victories this season.
- Wolves have dropped 18 points from winning positions this season, just two fewer than across the previous two campaigns combined. They’ve lost four games having been ahead in 2022-23.
- Their tally of 13 second-half goals scored is the lowest figure in the Premier League this season. Wolves have also conceded a league-high 64% of their goals after half-time.
Crystal Palace
- Palace have earned 10 points from four unbeaten league fixtures since Roy Hodgson returned to the club, immediately following a 12-game winless run.
- They are vying to keep three consecutive league clean sheets for the first time in a year.
- A third successive Premier League away victory would equal the club top-flight record, last achieved in May 2019 under Hodgson.
- The Eagles have earned an unrivalled six wins from a losing position in the current Premier League campaign.
- Crystal Palace’s only first-half league goal in 2023 was scored in stoppage time by Marc Guehi at Leeds United earlier this month.
match officials
Referee: Robert Jones. Assistants: Adrian Holmes, Wade Smith. Fourth official: Bobby Madley. VAR: Peter Bankes. Assistant VAR: Marc Perry.
match info
The match takes place on Tuesday 25th April at 7.30pm at Molineux. The match will be shown live on BT Sport in the UK.