Date: 11th December 2015
Kick-off: 7:45pm
Venue: Molineux
Competition: Sky Bet Championship
With a long awaited win finally under their belts, Wolves will look to make it two in a row with a victory over a resurgent Nottingham Forest side on Friday night.
Despite dominating the early stages of the game against Rotherham and getting the crucial goal before half time, the win never looked certain and fans were glad to hear the final whistle sound. Even if it was against a side battling relegation, this was a vital win for Wolves to finally turn their backs on yet another turbulent November.
It’s surprising the effect one win can have on a club, with the outlook looking a lot less bleak than merely a week ago. Our run of form has now changed from without a win in four games, to unbeaten in four. Notably following the win in South Yorkshire, whispers of a chase for the playoffs have also returned, with the club now only five points away from the top six, despite being 14th in the table.
It is perhaps too early to be discussing our playoff chances but with a glut of winnable games over the Christmas period looming, a good run could see a much more positive outlook come the New Year.
If this is to happen one thing that drastically needs to change is our home form. Only five teams have fewer points at home in the championship than Wolves this season. This home form has seen crowds dwindle and atmospheres get quieter throughout the course of the year.
A win over Nottingham Forest, and potentially over Leeds the following Thursday, would go a long way into restoring some faith back into the fan base.
Team selection wise it’s unclear who Jackett will call on to lead the line against Forest. Afobe was surprising missing from the starting eleven last Saturday, with Jackett claiming Le Fondre had done more than enough to earn a starting spot in previous weeks. That may be the case but Afobe is still the most gifted player at the club and him being on the bench two games running will only add fuel to the fire for the rumours of his imminent departure.
Ethan Ebanks Landell had big shoes to fill replacing Mike Williamson, but by all accounts was composed and flourished throughout. Hopefully he can continue this form and stay fit to help out a defence down to its bare bones. Jackett has spoken about his belief that Ebanks-Landell can step up and become a regular key figure in the side but Ebanks-Landell will face a tough learning curve as the games come thick and fast around Christmas.
Danger Men
Wolves
Jordan Graham continues to impress in a gold shirt, picking up two assists in the 2-1 win over Rotherham and yet another fans man of the match award. The tricky winger hasn’t looked out of place since coming into the side and has shown class and maturity to keep a positive run of form through some tricky results.
Nottingham Forest
Former Arsenal trainee Henri Lansbury is a confident goal scoring midfielder who is no stranger to scoring at Molineux. Lansbury picked up the third and final goal in this game last season, in what was a 3-0 mauling by Forest, so Wolves players will know very well the type of threat he can be.
Striker Chris O’Grady has bagged 2 goals in the previous 2 games and will be looking to extend that run on Friday night.
Fancast Predictions
Stu Wolves 3-0 Forest
Rich Wolves 2-1 Forest
David Wolves 2-1 Forest
Craig Wolves 1-1 Forest
Match odds
Wolves 6/5
Draw 23/10
Nottingham Forest 23/10
First goalscorer
Benik Afobe 4/1
Adam Le Fondre 11/2
David Edwards 15/2
Nelson Oliveria 13/2
Chris O’Grady 15/2
Henri Lansbury 11/1
Image courtsey of Express of Star: http://www.expressandstar.com/sport/wolverhampton-wanderers-fc/2015/12/08/rotherham-v-wolves-five-talking-points/
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