Billy Price previews Wolves FA Cup 3rd round match against Premier League strugglers Swansea.
Wolves take a break from their very impressive championship campaign run to take on Swansea In the third round of the F.A cup. In a game where if both teams played their full strength side, It could be a hard one to guess who would come out on top this season. However, Wolves still unbeaten since October, look to cause another F.A cup upset similarly to last season on a team struggling to find form in the Premier League.
Wolves won their last game at the Molineux comfortably in a 3-0 win over Brentford. A win that took Nuno’s men 12 points clear at the top of the league. Thanks to goals from an in form Barry Douglas, Ruben Neves and Diogo Jota. Whereas Swansea managed a strong 2-1 win away at Watford after fighting back from 1-0 down. It took a last minute winning goal, but shows the side still have spirit despite sitting level on points with West Brom, bottom of the table.
Swansea have won more overall when the clubs go head to head, winning 13 compared to Wolves’ 9. Wolves won the last meeting between the sides in the cup, but the last league meeting between the sides dates back to 2012 in an entertaining 4-4 draw.
We should expect to see a very different lineup for Wolves in this game, if the last cup game Wolves played has anything to go by. One name we all hope to see on the team sheet is newest signing Rafa Mir, who has taken the number 9 shirt. Along with Mir, we may see players like Bright, Jack Price, Ruben Vinagre and Will Norris get back into the team. Despite all playing well when needed, they have all struggled to get minutes this season in league competition. Wolves’ biggest stars like Ruben Neves, Diogo Jota and Ivan Cavaleiro will most likely be rested, as Wolves will hopefully have their main focus this season on gaining promotion to the top flight.
Ones to watch:
For Wolves, The one to watch in this game will most definitely be Rafa Mir, if he makes it into the squad. The newest attacking signing for Wolves will be looking to have a good first impression in front of the Molineux crowd. Not only that, he will now be battling Leo Bonatini for the striker spot in the side. Let’s see what the so called “Valencia Wonderkid” has to offer.
For Swansea, the one to watch would have to be Jordan Ayew. He helped start off Swansea comeback victory on the weekend, and is their joint top scorer this season. He will be hoping to help get his side further on in the FA cup, and give the fans a cup run worth celebrating to try and put aside their below average league performances.
In a game many Wolves fans may fancy us in, it’ll not only be a test of how much the players want it, but also how much interest the managers are willing to put into the competition. Both teams have far different things to be focusing on, one being promotion, another being avoiding relegation and may not want an extra cup fixture in their way. Only time will tell.
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