Top Four and Europe: What’s next for Nuno and this thrilling Wolves team?
By ROUNAK PATRA
Another exciting Premier League season is coming to an end. Since the 2011-12 season, no campaign has produced so much thrill as this one.
The title is still up for grabs for both Manchester City and Liverpool. Apart from that, the biggest wonder of the season is Wolverhampton Wanderers a.k.a, the Wolves.
They were promoted to the Premier League with Fulham and Cardiff, while the latter two have found their way back to the EFL Championship. This Wolves side has broken all sorts of expectations and currently sit 7th in the Premier League table standings. They are in contention for the final Europa spot and will primarily rely on Watford to book their Europa Play-off tickets (If Watford loses to Man City then only Wolves will play the playoffs).
Nonetheless, Nuno Santo and his Wolves side are nothing short of sensational. They are the first promoted team to win 16 matches in a Premier League campaign while securing 57 points (second to Ipswich’s record in 2001) till gameweek 37. Also, they have reached seventh place in the Premier League and have troubled the traditional ‘Big Six’. So, what is next for this team?
In terms of numbers, they have the fifth best defense in the league with a GA (Goals against) total of 44 and xGA (Expected Goals Against) of 40.99, just after the top two, Chelsea and Spurs. But in attack, their goals and expected goals are much less (G: 47, 12th in league with an xG of 52).
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These conclude:
- They are based on a strong defensive structure, and they mainly rely on counter-attacks, which explains their form v/s the top six. They’re good at absorbing pressure (thanks to their superior defensive structure), and then they attack with their fast attacking players in Jota and Jimenez by pinging accurate long balls from behind, supplied by Neves and Moutinho.
- They often run out of juice when it comes to creating attacks against low-block defenses such as Burnley. Wolves were continuously troubled by the teams which put more bodies inside the box instead of attacking.
Their pragmatic style of playing can explain both. Because it is Wolves’ first year in the Premier League, they wanted their safety first. They didn’t have the luxury to challenge the upper echelon of the English footballing pyramid. As Wolves’ safety is confirmed and they are in contention of a place in the Europa League, they can look forward to the next campaign where they can be the next club to challenge the ‘big six’.
To overcome those hurdles, they need to bulk up their squad. They hardly have any quality player outside their starting eleven. They have identified Milan’s Andre Silva as their cover in attack and Morgan Sanson from Marseille to support Neves and Moutinho. They’ve already captured Raul Jimenez and Doherty on permanent basis and added established stars in Patricio, Moutinho, and Neves, which underlines their ambitions and aspiration to grow.
dark. Next. Tielemans or Fernandes?
They are one of the growing forces in the EPL, and if they recruit positively and start playing with more ambition, they might be able to plug the gap to the top six, and although a big ‘if’, join the traditional ‘big boys’ of Premier League themselves.