Wolverhampton Wanderers welcome Fulham to Molineux on Sunday afternoon looking to bounce back from suffering three successive defeats in all competitions.
The Cottagers travel to the West Midlands having already suffered 3-0 defeats to Aston Villa and Brentford this week, piling the pressure on manager Scott Parker.
Match preview
© Reuters
Nuno Espirito Santo has acknowledged that Wolves will attempt to move away form a counter-attacking style this season, instead placing more emphasis on being proactive with their play.
However, his squad are currently struggling to adapt to the switch in approach, netting just once and conceding seven times during their last three matches in all competitions.
The manner of their 4-0 defeat at West Ham United felt like an important moment for Nuno and his players, who must now find a way to respond positively when they are expected to challenge for the top six.
With Fulham, Leeds United, Newcastle United and Crystal Palace to come in succession, the fixture list is there for Wolves to get back on track throughout October.
That said, with tougher games theoretically to come later in the year, the stakes are naturally higher as they bid to move up the standings this weekend.
While the same can be said for Fulham, Parker will be placing emphasis on a considerable improvement in their performances before contemplating the need to keep in touch with their rivals.
An array of incomings, something which Parker was initially against, has destabilised what appeared to be a united squad when they won the Championship playoffs in August.
There can be no doubting that Fulham are aiming high in the transfer market, particularly when players such as Milan Skriniar are being linked with a move to Craven Cottage.
However, Parker will soon want to draw a line on speculation regarding fresh arrivals with Fulham already shipping at least three goals in four separate matches this season.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Premier League form: WLL
Wolverhampton Wanderers form (all competitions): WLLL
Fulham Premier League form: LLL
Fulham form (all competitions): LWLWLL
Team News
© Reuters
Nuno has suggested that Marcal and Daniel Podence must pass fitness tests in order to feature in the squad.
With Ruben Vinagre expected to leave Molineux, Nelson Semedo or Ki-Jana Hoever may have to deputise at left wing-back.
Leander Dendoncker could be preferred to Joao Moutinho, who may be rested before departing for international duty with Portugal.
Parker must decide whether to go with a back four or switch to a three to match Wolves, just like West Ham did last weekend.
Denis Odoi or Ola Aina are competing for a place on the right-hand side of defence after Kenny Tete suffered a calf injury.
Ivan Cavaleiro will hope to feature against his former club.
Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Patricio; Boly, Coady, Saiss; Semedo, Dendoncker, Neves, Marcal; Traore, Jimenez, Neto
Fulham possible starting lineup:
Areola; Odoi, Hector, Ream, Bryan; Cairney, Zambo Anguissa; Kebano, Onomah, Cavaleiro; Mitrovic
We say: Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 Fulham
Despite Fulham being regarded as the clear underdogs for this match, they are squaring off against opponents who generally perform below their best when having to dictate play. Nevertheless, we cannot ignore Fulham's issues at the back, and we fancy Wolves to secure a hard-fought win on Sunday.
Top betting tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 1.5:dataVideo prediction
Watch the Sports Mole Football Shorts prediction for this game below:
Darren Plant
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Wolverhampton Wanderers win with a probability of 37.37%. A win for Fulham had a probability of 33.49% and a draw had a probability of 29.1%.
The most likely scoreline for a Wolverhampton Wanderers win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.64%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (7.61%) and 2-0 (7.19%). The likeliest Fulham win was 0-1 (11.78%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.39%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 12.6% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-0 win for Wolverhampton Wanderers in this match.
