Taking a statistical have a look at Wolves forward of this weekend’s Premier League opener…
Pep Guardiola begins his tenth season in English soccer at Molineux at 17:30 (UK) on Saturday 16 August, with radio and textual content commentary out there on mancity.com and our official app.
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After a 3rd place end in 2024/25, Guardiola and his gamers can be as soon as once more trying to problem for the title in what can be a seventh high spot since his 2016 arrival.
The gruelling 10-month journey begins in only a few days towards Vitor Pereira’s Wolves, who improved enormously within the second half of final season and could have ambitions of carrying that on on this marketing campaign.
Utilizing Opta’s information, we’ll now get a better understanding of what we’re up towards on Saturday…
2024/25 type
With only one level from their first eight video games after which 15 from 23, Wolves’ type drastically improved within the remaining months of the marketing campaign.
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A run of six straight victories from Matchweek 29 via to 34 was then adopted by three defeats and a draw as all risk of relegation fell away within the closing weeks.
WATCH: Our final 10 targets – Wolves (A)
Meaning 10 of the 12 Wolves wins within the Premier League in 2024/25 got here from Vitor Pereira’s 22 video games in cost.
All of it amounted to a sixteenth place end with 42 factors, solely behind Manchester United on purpose distinction.
Most well-liked formation
Pereira favoured a 3-4-3 setup final season.
That included three centre-backs usually charged with remaining strong and tight as a unit, with the wing-backs both facet of them given far more license to roam.
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Brazilian duo Joao Gomes and Andre have been mostly utilized in entrance of the central defenders and requested to cowl plenty of floor to make up for the additional numbers in defence and the excessive and large wing-backs.
Forward of them can be two artistic abilities supporting a focus of a striker.
Whereas this was the setup final season, summer time actions within the squad could but imply a change in form.
Switch exercise
Matheus Cunha, Wolves’ high scorer with 15 targets final season, has left for Manchester United.
Each first selection wing backs have additionally moved on, with Rayan Ait-Nouri now lining up for us and Nelson Semedo at Fenerbahce.
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Wolves have moved to switch the creativity of Cunha with Colombian worldwide Jhon Arias, who got here up towards Metropolis for earlier membership Fluminense within the 2023 FIFA Membership World Cup remaining.
The beautifully named David Moller Wolfe is the brand new left wing again possibility.
Supervisor
With 10 wins from 22 video games, Vitor Pereira’s 45.5% win share is the seventh finest within the division though that may be a comparatively small pattern dimension to most of the managers featured.
He enjoys the opening weekend too, having received eight of his 10 MD1 matches in his top-flight managerial profession throughout spells with six totally different golf equipment.
The 57-year-old has not solely endeared himself to Wolves followers with outcomes on the pitch, he’s additionally been recognized to frequent the pubs and bars fashionable with locals after a sport.
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Now on his eleventh membership since main Porto between 2011 and 2013, the Portuguese supervisor has expertise all throughout the globe.
How they rating their targets
With 54 targets in 2024/25, Wolves have been the joint-Twelfth highest scorers within the Premier League.
Coming from a sixteenth highest xG and pictures complete, that reveals an outperformance by way of what’s anticipated in entrance of purpose.
A 9.8 outperformance of their xG (44.2) was in truth the second finest within the division.
As we’ve stated, high scorer Cunha has gone however Jorgen Strand Larsen, who netted 14 instances himself, stays.
They have been nineteenth within the Premier League for headed targets with simply 4, however they have been devastating on the break – netting eight instances, the fourth most within the division.
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And from set items, they scored 9 instances – the sixteenth finest within the division.
How they defend
Wolves’ 69 targets conceded in 2024/25 meant solely three defences have been leakier than them.
Nonetheless, they solely conceded an xG of 58.7 that means the -10.3 differential between the xG conceded and targets conceded the worst within the division.
Goalkeeper Jose Sa’s save share of 59.7% was the bottom of the 26 stoppers throughout the division to play a minimum of 10 instances.
Key gamers
A variety of the accountability for locating the again of the web will doubtless fall with Jorgen Strand Larsen after his 14 targets final season. Joao Gomes’ haul of three was the subsequent better of these nonetheless on the membership.
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Bellegarde supplied seven assists, however the 4 subsequent most artistic gamers final time period have all left.
Ait-Nouri performed 37 of the 38 video games final season however fellow regulars Gomes, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Strand Larsen are all nonetheless there.
Head-to-head at Molineux
We’ve confronted one another 11 instances at Molineux within the Premier League period, with Metropolis profitable six instances and Wolves 4.
That’s included 23 Metropolis targets and 12 for Wolves, with final 12 months’s enjoying of this fixture seeing John Stones head a winner within the dying embers of the sport.
Residence and away, we’ve received 9 of our final 10 conferences with Wolves, with the one exception being a 2-1 in September 2023.