WATCH FOR EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW AHEAD OF WOLVES V BOURNEMOUTH
TEAM NEWS
Wolves have a few fitness updates ahead of tomorrow’s match against Bournemouth. Jean-Ricner Bellegarde has been training with the squad again, offering a timely boost in midfield. Ladislav Krejci has been dealing with flu and will be assessed closer to kick off. At the back, Toti remains out with a hamstring injury and is not expected to return until February. There is better news elsewhere, with Jose Sa and Jorgen Strand Larsen both training with the group and available for selection, despite continued links with January moves.
Bournemouth have a long injury list ahead of the trip to Molineux. Marcus Tavernier (hamstring), Tyler Adams (knee), Justin Kluivert (knee), Ben Gannon Doak (thigh), Julio Soler (unspecified), and Will Dennis (ankle) all remain sidelined, while David Brooks (ankle) will be assessed closer to kick off. On the selection side, Andoni Iraola may be tempted to hand £24.7m January signing Rayan his full Premier League debut, with the highly rated Brazilian winger competing with Adli and Alex Jimenez, who both scored in the win over Liverpool, for a starting spot out wide. Recent signing Alex Toth also comes into contention after making his debut off the bench against Liverpool, and a first start cannot be ruled out, although Alex Scott and Lewis Cook still look the most likely pairing in centre midfield.
ROB EDWARDS
Although Crystal Palace have shown a strong interest in Wolves forward Jorgen Strand Larsen, Rob Edwards confirmed the striker “will be part of the squad tomorrow”.
Crystal Palace have agreed a deal in principle worth in the region of £50m to sign Strand Larsen but the 25-year-old “has trained” with Wolves this week. “It’s as much as I can say on it at the moment,” added Edwards.
When asked if Crystal Palace had backed away from the deal, Edwards said: “That’s them, and I’m working for Wolves, so I don’t know.”
Edwards says his side “have been working hard” behind the scenes to bring in players before deadline day on 2 February. He added: “January is difficult, it is really challenging. But obviously a big part of our work as well is retaining people we want to retain, to make sure we’re competitive and in a strong position going forward.”
The Wolves boss believes “there will be action” from the West Midlands club before the deadline.
On Wolves’ team news: “The only thing we have got is we have Krejci struggling with flu. So he is a slight doubt. We will see how he reacts, other than that JJ [Jean-Ricner Bellegarde] is available for us, which is a nice little plus for us.”
On the Cherries: “Bournemouth, I have got loads of respect for them and the job that Andoni [Iraola] is doing and done. They are a really hard-working team with loads of energy and play football on the front foot. I love watching them play. It must be exciting being connected with that football club at the moment. I feel even though we lost last time out, we can still take a lot out of it.”
MATCH STATS & FACTS
Wolves have lost each of their last three Premier League home games against Bournemouth, having won their first two against them in the competition.
Bournemouth are looking to complete a league double over Wolves for the third time, previously doing so in 1985-86 (third tier) and 2014-15 (Championship).
Bournemouth have lost just two of their last 19 Premier League games against sides in the relegation zone (W13 D4). Away from home, they’ve won seven of the last eight, with the exception being a 2-1 loss at Rob Edwards’ Luton Town in April 2024.
There have been five red cards in 11 Premier League meetings between Bournemouth and Wolves, one every 2.2 games. Of all fixtures to have been played more than 10 times, only Aston Villa vs Portsmouth averages a sending off more often (one every 2 games, 7 in 14).
Between May and December, Wolves conceded in all 11 of their Premier League home games, conceding 26 goals in total. They’ve since kept a clean sheet in their last two at Molineux, their longest run since a four-game streak in April/May 2023.
After an 11-game winless run, Bournemouth have now won two of their last three in the Premier League (D1). Both wins have been by 3-2 scorelines at home, and courtesy of 90th minute winners (vs Tottenham and Liverpool).
Bournemouth have won just one of their 11 Premier League away games so far this season (D5 L5), with the Cherries conceding more goals on the road than any other side (30).
No side have conceded more goals from outside the box in the Premier League this season than Wolves (9), while only Aston Villa (13) have scored more from distance than Bournemouth (11).
This will be Andoni Iraola’s 100th Premier League match in charge of Bournemouth (W35 D29 L35) – the Spaniard has the highest win rate of any of the Cherries’ four top-flight managers (35.4%).
Jørgen Strand Larsen is Wolves’ top scorer in all competitions this season with six goals. However, just one of these strikes has come in the Premier League (2x EFL Cup, 3x FA Cup).
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Michael Oliver. Assistants: Stuart Burt, James Mainwaring. Fourth official: James Bell. VAR: Peter Bankes. Assistant VAR: Marc Perry.
FORM GUIDE (ALL COMPETITIONS)
HEAD TO HEAD (ALL COMPETITIONS)
