Wolves vs Pyunik Preview: Wolves should stroll into Final Round

Tomorrow night, Wolves will host Armenian side Pyunik in the Fourth Round of Qualifying for the Europa League. With a 4-0 lead going into the second leg, surely it's a done deal.

YEREVAN, ARMENIA - AUGUST 08: Raul Jimenez of Wolverhampton Wanderers during the UEFA Europa League Third Qualifying Round First Leg fixture between FC Pyunik and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Pyunik Stadium on August 8, 2019 in Yerevan, Armenia. (Photo by Sam Bagnall - AMA/Getty Images)

By Will Laing15 August 2019 13:07 BST

Unless something spectacular takes place at Molineux tomorrow night, we should see Wolverhampton Wanderers ease through into the Final Round of Qualifying for the Europa League.

On the back of a dull 0-0 draw with Leicester City on the opening weekend of the Premier League, the hosts will still be expected to increase their already mighty 4-0 lead against their Armenian opponents Pyunik Yerevan.

Contrastingly, over in Armenia Pyunik were not swayed by their Europa League defeat just three days before. The former Armenian champions travelled to their main rivals, Urartu, and took all three points in a tidy 3-0 win on the first week of their domestic campaign.

Chance to show off the summer signings?

With such a comfortable victory in Yerevan last week, Wolverhampton have placed themselves in a healthy position to experiment within their squad. We have seen Patrick Cutrone feature in the side already - although only from the bench. Is this the game for the Italian forward to state a claim for the first choice number nine spot?

Equally, Wolves fans are yet to see Spanish centre half, Jesús Vallejo, who has joined on loan from none other than Real Madrid. When the Spain Under-21 captain signed, it was expected that he would slot straight into the back three. Despite being a Champions League winner, he is yet to get on the pitch for the Midlands club.

Portuguese pair Bruno Jordão and Pedro Neto are the other two Wolves fans will be itching to see - mainly to make sure the teenagers can justify their hefty price tags.

Pyunik to rest their big guns?

Tomorrow night will arguably be one of the biggest games in Pyunik's history, so you would imagine they would leave absolutely everything out there at Molineux. That would almost be a certainty if it wasn't for the fact that they have to travel back to Armenia to face rivals (and last year's champions) Aarat Yerevan.

Only four days and four time zones separate the two fixtures, but which will the Armenian's favour? Maybe being 4-0 down already will be quite a large deciding factor for head coach Alexander Tarkhanov.

Key Players

It's difficult to know who will be key in a game where the starting XI is so uncertain. However, it is a game for the players on the outskirts to have their opportunity to shine.

The majority of the possession should be dominated by the hosts, therefore it is a perfect chance for youngster Morgan Gibbs-White to drop into a commanding central midfield role - controlling each passage of play, just as his mentor João Moutinho does so well.

If Pyunik are to have any chance of putting up a fight against the Wanderers, 23 year old forward Artur Miranyan will have to produce a top quality performance. The Armenian attacker only scraped together five goals in 15 appearances in the last campaign, but has got off the mark already this year - his side may need more than just that one to make a mark in the Midlands tomorrow night.