A Wolverhampton Wanderers side who have already assured themselves of Premier League safety tackle an Everton outfit still fighting to stave off demotion in Saturday's Molineux matchup.
Both sides fell victim to defeats to the Manchester giants last weekend, as Julen Lopetegui's side lost 2-0 at Old Trafford, while Manchester City put three past the Toffees without reply.
Match preview
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Neither Lopetegui nor his players would have been losing sleep over the result of their journey to Manchester United last weekend, which came seven days after the West Midlands side had confirmed their survival by sinking Aston Villa in a local derby.
Despite a gutsy Premier League debut from goalkeeper Daniel Bentley - who made no fewer than eight saves at the Theatre of Dreams - Wolves succumbed to goals from Anthony Martial and Alejandro Garnacho in a third straight away defeat, albeit an inconsequential one.
For the time being, though, the hosts can enjoy a slow stroll to the final whistle as they occupy 13th place in the table, only three points behind both of Chelsea and Crystal Palace, although they could still plunge as low as 16th over the next two weekends.
Before the daunting prospect of a final-day trip to Arsenal, Wolves will aspire to continue their excellent exploits in front of their own fans; Lopetegui's men have won each of their last four at Molineux without conceding a goal and have remarkably kept seven clean sheets from nine Premier League home matches in 2023.
It has been nearly 54 years since Wolves last won five successive top-flight home matches with five clean sheets, but their two home losses in the current calendar year have come to basement-battling teams in Bournemouth and Leeds United - conceding four to the latter - but Everton sensationally bettered that tally during their most recent trip away from Goodison Park.
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Fresh from putting five past Brighton & Hove Albion during an extraordinary set of Bank Holiday fixtures, Everton sought to spring another surprise when Manchester City took a break from their Real Madrid-sized Champions League commitments to make the trek to Merseyside.
However, the Toffees faithful were unaware that they had purchased tickets to the Ilkay Gundogan show, as the champions' captain scored two delightful efforts either side of setting up Erling Braut Haaland's header in a comprehensive 3-0 rout, leaving Sean Dyche's men on the brink again.
Hovering just above danger in 17th place, Everton are one point better off than Leeds United and two ahead of Leicester City, meaning that victory for them coupled with defeats for their relegation rivals would guarantee their safety. Alternatively, the Toffees could head into gameweek 38 in 19th place should results at Molineux and elsewhere go against them.
The Toffees should not be knocked for going down to the Man City juggernaut, and they travel to Molineux having lost just one of their last six Premier League games on the road - drawing four of them and only losing to Man United in that timeframe. It has been exactly 24 months since Everton last won back-to-back away games, though.
The scarcely-seen Rayan Ait-Nouri was the last-minute hero when Wolves edged past Everton 2-1 at Goodison Park on Boxing Day - extending the hosts' triumphant run over the Toffees to three matches since Carlo Ancelotti engineered a 1-0 win for the Merseyside strugglers on May 19, 2021.
Team News
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Besides one unnamed player being classed as doubtful, there has been little movement in the Wolves treatment room recently, as Sasa Kalajdzic and Chiquinho continue their recoveries from season-ending knee problems, while Boubacar Traore is still building up his fitness levels.
With only pride to play for between now and the end of the month, Lopetegui has promised to rotate his resources while putting out a team capable of grinding out a result, so the likes of Adama Traore, Daniel Podence, Joao Gomes and Hugo Bueno may come into his thinking here.
Arguably the biggest selection dilemma for the Wolves boss lies in between the sticks, though, as Bentley produced a stunning performance against Champions League-chasing Man United and may have done enough to get the nod over Jose Sa once more.
As Wolves work without their towering striker in Kalajdzic, it may be a similar story for Everton and Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The Englishman just cannot catch a break at the moment and was taken off at half time in the loss to City with a groin issue, so Demarai Gray is on standby.
Calvert-Lewin has not been definitively ruled out of this game just yet, but the Toffees will adopt a cautious approach given his history of injuries, while Andros Townsend (fitness), Dele Alli (groin), Ruben Vinagre (calf), Ben Godfrey (groin) and Seamus Coleman (knee) make up a quintet of longer-term absentees. Tom Davies is also nursing a hamstring concern and is highly unlikely to play.
Left-back Vitaly Mykolenko also sat out the defeat to Man City after twinging his quadriceps and is doubtful for this one too, while Conor Coady cannot face his parent club, so Mason Holgate will be called upon again if the former is not passed fit.
Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Bentley; Semedo, Dawson, Kilman, Bueno; Traore, Neves, Lemina, Nunes; Cunha, Costa
Everton possible starting lineup:
Pickford; Patterson, Tarkowski, Mina, Holgate; Iwobi, Garner, Doucoure, Gueye, McNeil; Gray
We say: Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-1 Everton
Yet another physical glitch for Calvert-Lewin is far from ideal before a visit to a Wolves side who keep clean sheets for fun at home, but Lopetegui's men may just lose a touch of their resilience with nothing significant on the line.
Even before their freak win at Brighton, Everton proved to be adept at grinding out points on the road, and the Toffees can end Wolves' winning streak on their own patch to take a point back to base - whether it will be enough to keep their heads above water remains to be seen.
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Top tip
Ben Knapton
