Date: 16th January 2015
Kick-off: 3:00pm
Venue: Molineux
Competition: Sky Bet Championship
They say a week is a long time in football, and Wolves have certainly proved this to be true after a rollercoaster seven days.
Wolves were dumped out the FA cup by West Ham, lost star striker Benik Afobe to Bournemouth and fancast favourite Bjorn Sigurdsson picked up a serious looking injury. But Tuesday’s clash with Fulham raised spirits across Molineux with a fantastic attacking performance, highlighted by two goals from new signing Michal Zyro.
Thanks to that win, there is a now a lot more positivity ahead of Saturday’s clash with Cardiff City.
Without Afobe in the side, Wolves appeared to have entered a new era of much more expansive football with wingers Jordan Graham and Rajiv van La Parra causing constant problems for the Fulham fullbacks. The game saw a significant shift in attacking strategy and with the amount of pacey, quality wingers at his disposal; this is surely something Jackett will want to continue with.
Although we were only playing a struggling Fulham side, it is a relief to see a lot more balance to the side, with Zyro’s introduction complimenting the side well.
Whether Wolves go ahead and use the Afobe money to purchase another striker remains to be seen. Bolton’s Zach Clough recently rejected a move to Bristol City and is still being heavily linked with a move to Molineux. Recent reports have also suggested Wolves have targeted Swansea striker Eder, who has yet to score in England since arriving in the summer.
Wolves will want to erase the memory of the reverse fixture this season, where they put in a dreadful performance in front of the sky cameras in a 2-0 loss. The result back in August was perhaps the worst performance under Jackett’s reign as manager, and he will want to avenge that on Saturday in front of what stands to be a huge crowd.
A win would see Wolves leap Cardiff in the standings and potentially reach as high as 8th.
Expected line-up
Ikeme, Iorfa, Ebanks-Landell, Batth, Doherty, Graham, Coady, Edwards, McDonald, Zyro, Le Fondre
Fancast Predictions
Adam Wolves 2-1 Cardiff
Luke SCORE DRAW
Richard Wolves 2-2 Cardiff
David Wolves 2-0 Cardiff
Craig Wolves 1-1 Cardiff
Danger Men
Wolves
Despite a lack of real competition his place, Ethan Ebanks-Landell has thoroughly impressed and is making the centre back position his own. Although obviously still learning, Ebanks-Landell has calmed the worries of a lack of numbers at the back with a string of good performances.
Cardiff
Wolves academy graduate Scott Malone will be lining up for the Cardiff on Saturday with the hope to haunt his former club. Our former academy player of the year has become an experienced championship full back since leaving in 2012 and was actually signed by Jackett during his time at Milwall.
Match odds
Wolves 6/5
Draw 23/10
Cardiff 23/10
First goal scorer
Michal Zyro 11/2
Rajiv Van La Parra 6/1
David Edwards 7/1
Joe Mason 6/1
Tony Watt 13/2
Federico Macheda 7/1
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