Wolves host Arsenal in the Premier League on Saturday night and despite recent injury woes, there is every reason to be confident of Gary O’Neil pulling off an upset.
Wolves are unlikely to have the end to the season they would have wanted.
Supporters could have been heading to Wembley this weekend for an FA Cup semi-final clash against Manchester United but an excruciating 3-2 loss against Coventry City ended their hopes of gleaning silverware.
Gary O’Neil‘s men also looked poised to gatecrash the European places for much of the campaign, although a glut of injuries to their attacking players and four matches without a win have damaged their chances.
Yet, it has been an unexpectedly enjoyable season for Wolves under O’Neil and one impressive record suggests they can take Arsenal’s scalp on Saturday night.
Why Wolves should feel very optimistic about beating Arsenal
Arsenal arrive at Molineux down in the dumps.
Mikel Arteta’s men saw their Premier League title hopes take a fatal blow with defeat to Aston Villa while on Wednesday night, the Gunners crashed out of the Champions League against Bayern Munich.
A season that promised so much for the visitors could yet end with no silverware and as Arsenal will aim to bounce back against Wolves, the hosts will be confident of pulling off an upset.
Wolves boast an impressive record against the divisions ‘big six’ this season, disposing of Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea on home turf.
The Wanderers also gave Manchester United a huge scare having lost 4-3 while outplaying Liverpool for 45 minutes in a 3-1 defeat.
It means no other club in the top flight has taken more points against the division’s ‘big six’ than Wolves, recording five wins (15 points) in nine matches, as per The Athletic.
Why Wolves love playing against the Premier League’s best
As depicted by their record against the Premier League’s best, Wolves enjoy the satisfaction of not dominating the ball and would rather play on the counterattack.
O’Neil’s side are at their best when an opponent comes onto them, so they can soak up the pressure and hit teams on the break.
Their incredible ability to wreak havoc on the counter is largely down to the pace they boast in transition, with the likes of Nelson Semedo, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Matheus Cunha and Hwang Hee-Chan all bombing forward on the break.
Wolves struggle against lower teams in the division, slipping to defeat against Fulham, Sheffield United, Crystal Palace and Brentford.
So, ahead of their clash against Arsenal, supporters should feel confident of O’Neil’s men taking another scalp while damaging the Gunners title hopes.