
Wolves prepare to face Crystal Palace at Molineaux, with Gary O'Neil's aiming to earn their first league victory of the season.
The home side come into this game on the back of a 2-2 draw away at Brighton. Matheus Cunha got the equaliser last weekend deep into additional time to seal a morale boosting comeback.
Oliver Glasner's Palace come into this game having won their first Premier League match of the season last weekend against Tottenham with Jean-Philippe Mateta sealing victory for the Eagles.
Palace also played in midweek beating Aston Villa 2-1 in the EFL Cup round of 16 to earn their second successive victory.
Wolves currently sit 19th in the league having drawn twice and lost seven, whilst Palace's victory last weekend saw them escape the relegation zone to sit in 17th. The result of this game will be pivotal to both teams as they would hope to be beating those around them in the table.
Last season in the Premier League, Palace did the league double over Wolves, most recently winning 3-1 at Molineux in May with Michael Olise, Ebere Eze and Mateta on the scoresheet that day.
-
Team News
Wolves
After spending the last two games on the sidelines, former Eagles goalkeeper Sam Johnstone will be available to play his old side on Saturday.
O’Neil is hopeful that captain Mario Lemina will be available to play on Saturday. He was withdrawn at half-time last weekend with a knock to his calf.
Centre-back Yerson Mosquera is expected to miss the rest of the 2024/25 season. The 23-year-old was stretchered off when Wolves played Aston Villa in September.
Sasa Kalajdzic will remain out the side for the next couple months. The Austrian striker picked up an ACL injury in February during a loan spell at Eintracht Frankfurt.
Hwang Hee-Chan has missed the last two games against Man City and Brighton and is expected to be out for another one-to-two weeks meaning the South Korean international will miss out this weekend.
Enso Gonzalez will also be unavailable for the rest of the season. The 19-year-old suffered a cruciate ligament injury. The Paraguayan joined the club in the summer of 2023 and made his debut in this fixture in May.
Boubacar Traore also remains out of action due to a knee injury. The Malian midfielder has played once this season in the 2nd round of the EFL Cup when Wolves beat Burnley 2-0.
Bastien Meupiyou has stepped up his recovery from injury in recent weeks and has been training on the grass with a ball at his feet. The 18-year-old is yet to make his debut after having joined the club from Nantes this summer.
Crystal Palace
Joel Ward missed the cup game against Aston Villa and is expected to miss out against Wolves, but should be available next weekend against Fulham.
Daniel Munoz has been nursing a slight hamstring problem since the 1-0 loss against Liverpool which caused him to miss the international break with Colombia but should be fit to feature against Wolves.
Rob Holding has been training away from the first team in recent weeks and will not be in the squad at Molineaux.
Moroccan centre-back Chadi Riad is expected to return to the squad after the international break and has been out of action since the EFL Cup victory against Norwich. Meanwhile defender Chris Richards is expected to return to training next week. Palace have been without the American for their last five games.
Cheick Doucoure will return to the squad this weekend and has been missing from the team since the 2-2 draw with Leicester in September.
Both Jefferson Lerma and Eberechi Eze will be missing for the Wolves and Fulham games with hamstring injuries, whilst Adam Wharton will also miss out and requires surgery on his groin injury. The midfielder was withdrawn in the first half on Wednesday night alongside Eze.
Matheus Franca is not expected to feature again until the New Year after suffering a groin injury.
-
Likely Line-ups
Wolves
Johnstone; Semedo, Bueno, Dawson, Gomes, Ait-Nouri; Doyle, Lemina; Gomes, Cunha; Strand Larsen
Crystal Palace
Henderson; Munoz, Chalobah, Lacroix, Guehi, Mitchell; Kamada, Hughes; Sarr, Nketiah; Mateta
-
Key Players
Wolves – Matheus Cunha
The Brazilian is currently Wolves’ top scorer this season with four in his first nine. The attacker brings creativity to the side with an exceptional first touch and pace he uses to drive past the defender.
Cunha is often a threat when he is on the ball dribbling and cutting in off the left-hand side. During his time at the club he has had some memorable games including a hattrick at Stamford Bridge and a goal in the Black Country derby.
If the club are to survive relegation to the Championship, they will need him to be at his best for the duration of the season.
Crystal Palace – Marc Guehi
The Eagles luckily kept hold of the England international. He had attracted strong interest from Newcastle following his performances during the Euros.
The Palace captain is a strong and well positioned defender who is often able to turn himself away from danger and play a long ball forward.
He has also demonstrated that he is a quick option at the back as he is able to drive himself into higher positions on the pitch.
-
Match Details
Where is the game being played?
The game will be played at Wolves’ stadium Molineux.
What time is kick-off?
Kick off is at 17:30 GMT on Saturday 2nd November.
How can I watch?
The game has been selected to be televised on Sky Sports Main Event. Live updates will also be available on the Sky Sports website and Premier League app.
Highlights of the match, alongside key analysis, will be available to view on BBC One at 22:20 GMT on Match of the Day.

