Does the ex-coach give Wolves the gift of advancing?
For the internationally represented teams, the third round of the far less important national cup competition on the island, the EFL Cup, comes at the absolute worst possible time. Exactly in the week between the first and the second group matchday, i.e. in the middle of the second of three consecutive English weeksit’s all about progress for the European Cup representatives in the League Cup.
While other clubs have had the luck of the draw, London Hotspurs are up against a direct league rival. Before the kick-off of the Wolverhampton vs. Tottenham match, the lower odds on a home win for the Orange and Blacks can be explained by the above-mentioned starting position. The bookmakers do not expect the visitors to be at full strength at the Molineux in view of the enormous workload and the tightly-scheduled fixture schedule.
For the home side, on the other hand, the encounter from has a special significance in two respects On the one hand, it offers the opportunity to recharge their batteries after a botched start to the new Premier League season. On the other hand, it is against the former coach Nuno Espirito Santo, which could have a decisive positive influence on the motivation level, which should not be underestimated in this competition. Between Wolverhampton and Tottenham, a prediction on the Wanderers’ progress thus seems anything but uninteresting.
Wolverhampton – Statistics & current form
In each of the 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons, Wolverhampton Wanderers were still considered big favourites and surprise teams with plenty of potential. In both seasons, the Orange and Blacks eventually finished in seventh place and were able to sustainably put together a squad that certainly lived up to the high national standards.
However, instead of a further positive development, the performance curve has been clearly pointing downwards for some months now. In the pre-season, they only managed to finish 13th in the final standings and the start to the new season 2021/22 was anything but according to plan for the Wolves After five matchdays, the team of coach Bruno Lage, who succeeded his compatriot Nuno Espirito Santo who left for Tottenham in the summer, has only three points to show for it
Wolves without a goal in the league four times already
Only the away match in Watford was victorious for the team from the West Midlands with 2:0. Especially bitter: The two goals scored at the promoted club were also the only ones in the current Premier League season so far. In each of the other four defeats, Lage’s team failed to score, which is why the disappointing 16th place in the interim standings is not particularly surprising.
However, because the basic quality is there and Wolves have suffered three of the aforementioned four defeats against absolute top teams (ManUtd, Leicester, Tottenham) in each case only by the narrowest of results, a 0:1, we are convinced that it should only be a matter of time before the form curve takes a turn in the right direction again.
Lage eleven eager to make amends and flip the switch
The fact that the dress rehearsal for this EFL Cup match went completely to shit at the weekend with a 2-0 defeat against Brentford is, in our eyes, even a good argument to try betting on the hosts between Wolverhampton and Tottenham. Why? Because the Orange and Blacks will be looking to make amends in front of their home crowd and the Lage side, who have had a poor start to the campaign, will be looking to use this cup tie to finally break the proverbial mould.
In terms of motivation and willpower, they should therefore be ahead of their opponents from the capital In terms of personnel, the Portuguese coach will certainly not be making any major experiments and will instead be sending out an eleven that definitely has what it takes to reach the next round. Pedro Neto, Jonny Otto and Hugo Bueno will not be among them, however. All three of the aforementioned players are missing due to injury.
Predicted Wolverhampton line-up:
Ruddy; Mosquera, Coady, Boly; Hoever, Neves, Dendoncker, Ait-Nouri; Traore, Silva, Hwang
Last matches played by Wolverhampton:
Tottenham – Statistics & current form
Extremely bold, almost a little naïve was Nuno Espirito Santo’s match-winning approach in the derby against Chelsea FC on Sunday afternoon. The Spurs started enormously offensively, put the Champions League winners under pressure very early on and had good opportunities to capitalise in the early stages. As the game progressed, however, the higher quality prevailed and the “Blues” finally deserved to win 3:0.
In terms of results, the recent slump continued, as the previous week had already seen a clear 3-0 defeat at Crystal Palace. The 2-2 draw in the Conference League opener against Rennes was also a disappointment. The disappointing results and the resulting downward pointing form curve certainly provide arguments to take a closer look at the odds on a home win between Wolverhampton and Tottenham.
Six competitive games in three weeks
Adding to the difficulty is the fact that Kane and Co. are already playing their fourth competitive game in ten days on Wednesday. In the next ten days, they will play three more matches, including league games against Arsenal and Aston Villa. So we don’t need to be prophets to predict that the EFL Cup will be the lowest priority ahead of Wolverhampton’s game against Tottenham
Especially in terms of the line-up, this will have an impact. Whether the two star strikers Harry Kane and Hyeung-Min Son will be used will only be decided in the short term. But it is quite possible that at least one of the two attackers will get a break. Potential substitutes who may have hopes of playing are substitute keeper Gollini, newcomer Bryan Gil and Oliver Skipp. Tanganga is also expected to return to the team after his suspension in the Premier League.
Predicted Tottenham line-up:
Gollini; Tanganga, Sanchez, Rodon, Davies; Winks, Skipp, Ndombele; Gil, Kane (?), Son (?)
Last matches played by Tottenham:
Wolverhampton – Tottenham Direct Comparison / H2H Record
Exactly one month ago, on 22 August 2021, this clash already took place in the Premier League. Thanks to Dele Alli’s penalty in the tenth minute of the match, Tottenham prevailed at the Molineux Stadium, giving Nuno Espirito Santo a successful return to his old employer.
In their three previous Premier League seasons together, the Portuguese, who was still with Wolves at the time, managed to win two out of six direct encounters. In four of the aforementioned six encounters, the 2.5 goal mark was broken. Only once did both teams fail to score.
Wolverhampton – Tottenham tip
If the Wolves and Spurs encounter were taking place in the Premier League on Wednesday night, we would probably make a different prediction. However, because it is a clash in the less important Carabao Cup, we opt for betting odds on the home side to progress between Wolverhampton and Tottenham.
The main reason for this assessment is the mammoth programme that the Londoners currently have to complete. The cup match is already the fourth competitive match within ten days, but at the same time “only” the fourth match out of a total of seven in only 20 days. Given the more important matches against Arsenal, Aston Villa or Mura in the Conference League, we assume that coach Espirito Santo will use the EFL Cup to rest his key players.
The hosts, on the other hand, are under pressure after a poor start to the season, looking to win back the fans after a poor performance in the 2-0 defeat to Brentford at the weekend, while also building confidence for the tasks ahead. In addition, the Lage eleven has no international duties and thus a lower burden than the opponent.
On balance, therefore, we think that between Wolverhampton and Tottenham, the tip on the home team advancing holds the most attractive value.
