Two sides on opposite ends of 3-0 scorelines in last weekend's Premier League fixtures clash in Saturday's mid-table battle at Molineux, as Wolverhampton Wanderers take on Fulham.
Gary O'Neil's men were convincingly beaten by Newcastle United in gameweek 27, while the Cottagers put three past a meek Brighton & Hove Albion without reply.
Match preview
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A six-game unbeaten run on the road - including back-to-back wins over Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur - was Wolves' to protect during their St James' Park encounter with Newcastle United, but O'Neil's men lost their counter-attacking bite and the game in the North East.
Serving Wolves a taste of their counter-attacking medicine, the Magpies turned defence into offence in the blink of an eye as Alexander Isak broke the deadlock early doors, before Anthony Gordon's opportunistic strike and Tino Livramento's intuitive finish completed an emphatic Newcastle victory.
On account of their first top-flight away defeat post-Christmas, Wolves have been demoted below Newcastle in the Premier League standings and also missed the chance to leapfrog Fulham's most recent victims Brighton, but O'Neil's team are still clinging onto a top-half spot in 10th place.
With just a four-point gap separating Wolves from West Ham United in seventh place, European football for 2024-25 is still not out of the question for the hosts, who could still return to the continent via FA Cup glory - a winnable quarter-final tie with Coventry City is on the agenda for next weekend.
Before Wolves fans get pre-occupied with thoughts of Wembley, their beloved side seek a third successive home triumph following 1-0 successes over Sheffield United and Brighton in the league and cup respectively, and only one of the hosts' last 20 top-flight games at Molineux has seen them fail to score.
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As Wolves shipped three without mustering a response last weekend, Fulham notched a terrific trio of strikes past Roberto De Zerbi's Brighton in West London, where Brazilian hotshot Rodrigo Muniz and Welsh wing king Harry Wilson stole the show in the first half.
The former headed the ball down for the latter to fire a long-range rocket into the top corner, before Wilson then turned provider with a delicious cross for Muniz to meet and head home, thereby putting the game more or less out of Brighton's reach before the break.
After Muniz and Wilson had done their part, substitutes Bobby Decordova-Reid and Adama Traore combined for the ex-Wolves man to add a touch of gloss to the scoreline in injury time, rubber-stamping Fulham's third win from four matches following beatings of Bournemouth and Manchester United.
With just one defeat next to their name from their last six games in the top flight, Marco Silva's men are enjoying mid-table obscurity in 12th place and could now win three straight fixtures against teams in the top half for the first time since 2009, when Roy Hodgson was in control of the reins.
Failure to keep a clean sheet on the road since September will do the Cottagers no favours, but Silva's men edged a five-goal thriller 3-2 when Wolves visited their West London home at the end of November, ending a six-game streak without victory versus the Molineux side in the process.
Team News
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Wolves' misery against Newcastle was compounded when O'Neil brought Jose Sa and Pedro Neto off at half time due to thigh injuries, but their substitutions were precautionary, and there is optimism that both men will be fine to line up from the off this weekend.
That is more than can be said for deadly attacking duo Hwang Hee-chan and Matheus Cunha, both of whom will remain sidelined for weeks with similar injuries, while Joao Gomes is hamstring victim number five but has been passed fit.
Craig Dawson has emerged as a fresh concern with a groin issue, though, so Santiago Bueno will ready himself for a possible start if the ex-West Ham United man misses out.
Meanwhile, Fulham will receive a significant boost in the shape of Joao Palhinha's return; the Portuguese enforcer has sat out his side's last two Premier League games on account of picking up 10 bookings.
Sasa Lukic can feel hard done by to be dropped this weekend, having started the wins over Man United and Brighton, but the Serbia international is poised to make way for the reinstated Palhinha, who rejoins stand-in captain Harrison Reed in the middle.
The Cottagers' sole injury victim Raul Jimenez continues to work his way back from a thigh injury, but the Mexican would struggle to get a look-in right now thanks to the form of Muniz, who has five in his last five Premier League games and is also keeping Armando Broja at bay.
Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Sa; Kilman, Toti, S. Bueno; Semedo, Lemina, Doyle, Ait-Nouri; Sarabia, Bellegarde; Neto
Fulham possible starting lineup:
Leno; Castagne, Adarabioyo, Bassey, Robinson; Palhinha, Reed; Wilson, Pereira, Willian; Muniz
We say: Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-2 Fulham
Despite falling short in the capital four months ago, Wolves are yet to suffer a Premier League home defeat to Fulham, whose lack of away shut-outs could prove somewhat costly at a ground where O'Neil's men usually need no help putting the ball in the back of the net.
The absences of Hwang and Cunha were sorely felt against Newcastle, though, and with Fulham possessing a fully fit and firing talisman of their own in Muniz, the Cottagers have our vote to take home all three points, end their Molineux hoodoo and leapfrog their hosts in the table.
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Ben Knapton
