Wolves host Southampton for a traditional Saturday 15:00 game in an ongoing bid to win their first Premier League match of the season - something the visitors achieved last weekend.
Adam Armstrong scored late on away at Everton to give the Saints a crucial victory in their tough early battle against relegation.
At Molineux however, it was another two-all draw last weekend, following on from the same scoreline down in Brighton the week before.
Gary O’Neil has faced early season scrutiny just 10 games in and it seems like the 11th could tell the final story if the plot fails to improve.
Members on the Wolves board have said they will assess O’Neil’s future at the club after the matchup against Southampton.
The story so far tells three points from 10 games - which in fairness is harsh; the XG table portrays Wolves with eight points and out the bottom three, but O’Neil needs results rather than these useless feats.
Facing Southampton at Molineux gives Wolves the chance to enter a game as favourites for the first time this season, but it eventually falls down to the players to turn that into a positive result.
Defence has to improve
27 goals conceded from 11 games is simply unacceptable and is similarly going to eventually take the club in an inevitable direction - relegation.
After reverting back to the five-back system that saw positive results last season, Wolves have conceded twice in each of the three games they have played.
In those three games playing a five-back, Wolves have conceded an average of 1.84 XG, compared to an average across the previous seven games of 2.16 XG.
Despite the decrease being small, it is in the right direction - as well as two of the three games being against Man City and high-fliers Brighton.
The defence has to improve and concede less than two goals a game - something they have only done once so far this season - however the stats are going in the right direction and hopefully they turn into positive results soon.
Promising frontline
Wolves sit joint ninth for goals scored this season with 14 - which hits home how sitting bottom of the league shows just how bad the defence have been to start the campaign.
Matheus Cunha and Jorgen Strand Larsen both have four goals and an assist each. If they can carry that form throughout the season, they would be on track to finish the campaign with just under 20 G/A each - which you would hope 40 G/A from your two forwards keeps you up.
The partnership the duo have formed has blossomed each week and the understanding between the two improves weekly.
The change of system looks to have helped the duo as a midfielder has to be sacrificed to fit the formation, allowing another winger to start which was Pablo Sarabia last week.
Cunha was often operating as a link from midfield to attack, whilst expected to be an outlet runner and be a threat to the opposition goal - which is unsustainable for one player to pull off.
Having an extra attacker instead of three in midfield allows Cunha and Larsen to stay higher up the pitch to provide a threat to the opposition defence, whilst another player can act as a link between midfield and attack, which none of the three midfielders of Joao Gomes, Mario Lemina and Andre proved they could do.
Who takes up the winger spot?
After analysing how an extra winger can help out Cunha and Larsen, it begs the question of who fits In and can efficiently help out the two goalscorers.
Sarabia underperformed last time out and may have lost his grip on the starting spot, unless the Spaniard has overly impressed in the last week of training.
Goncalo Guedes was introduced in the second half against Palace and provided the assist for Joao Gomes’ first-ever goal at Molineux.
Guedes has impressed in the Carabao Cup this season with three goals in two games, but has unfortunately failed to kickstart his Premier League campaign meaning it is unlikely he will start against Southampton.
Lively winger Carlos Forbs started against Brentford and looked energetic but without any end product to affect the game.
Forbs seems the obvious choice to play that role on Saturday as it means he can isolate and drag defenders out the game with his pace and trickery, allowing Larsen and Cunha more space in the central areas to impact the game.
Must-win game
It feels like O’Neil’s dismissal is a matter of time, that he will struggle to truly pull this around to a point where he is leading the team into the final months of the season.
Is it much of a positive if Wolves win on Saturday when people surrounding the club know that a win is just delaying the obvious.
Ignoring O’Neil’s future for a moment, the game is a must-win contest for the club, not just for the manager.
Southampton are relegation rivals and Wolves simply have to come away from the game with all three points and send the Saints back to the south coast with nothing to add to the league table.
