Hello! We're here for yet another Preview, and we're headed to Molineux for the Second time this season- to face Wolves for the 4th time this season. So far we've had 2 Draws and a Loss within 90 Minutes against Wolves- and given the teams respective forms it'll take a minor miracle for us to level the scales with a win. Since our last win against Forest Wolves have picked up 2 Wins, 2 Draws and 2 Defeats but when you consider one of those losses was against the resurgent Norwich and then you look at the two wins they've picked up against Rotherham and Huddersfield in which they've torn them apart.
Contrast this with our League record since Forest of 2 Draws and 3 Losses scoring just 4 Goals in those 5 Games its hard to see a scenario where we leave Molineux not still on 36 Points. That said, if we get our team selection right and crucially get a more robust, perhaps defensive team on the pitch I think we could at the very least give Wolves a run for their money. With the congested run of fixtures we currently find ourselves in the middle of- rotation is key in my opinion and while we're likely to be on the end of a thrashing against Derby on the Weekend, the impetus should be on us to attack in that game given the fact we're the home team- meaning a defensive rotation should be coming in for tomorrows game.
Bettinelli continuing in goal is a given, his Clean Sheet at the weekend was his first in the League this side of Christmas so hopefully that'll give him a confidence boost because he's had a rough month or so with the goals he was at fault for against Bolton and Sunderland.
Kit's confirmed despite the statistic that we haven't won a game since we signed him that we're looking to extend the Jazz Richards Loan Deal. As such I can't see him being dropped in the near future, and will continue in the Back 4. I said it in my Millwall Review- the Hutchinson & Bodurov partnership is far from ideal, but I do think they redeemed themselves to an extent at the Weekend- with Bodurov in particular putting in a really good performance in my opinion. Stafylidis also looking infinitely better at the weekend than he has done recently- but it was against a team that didn't really put him under that much pressure; and Wolves will most definitely pull him in every single direction at the same time. As such I'd bring in Sean Kavanagh- who's far from an ideal candidate, but he's a lot calmer and aware and from a defensive standpoint that's what we need tomorrow.
The Midfield should also be seeing some rotation in my opinion. In my opinion Seko Fofana should be starting tomorrow, he's far from an ideal player for us but his energy is what we'll need tomorrow in my opinion- and his performance against Wolves in the Replay was definitely one of his best in a Fulham shirt. I'd bring him in for Tunnicliffe for tomorrows game- who's looked quite lethargic as of late. Tim Hoogland played 90 Minutes on Thursday, so perhaps it was a bit hasty to put him in the team for Saturday given his return to full fitness is still in its infancy- however he's had a couple more days to recover now and I'd be mindful of Scott Parker's fitness over the next 4 Games, as such I'd bring in Hoogland for the "Parker Role" of sitting in front of the Back 4. Christensen should continue in his midfield spot however, as I've highlighted in previous blogs it seems Fofana plays better when Christensen is starting in the team because of the type of players they are. I'm not sure what Bryan's fitness is like- but I'm going to assume he's going to restricted to the Sub role again tomorrow, meaning Kacaniklic starting in the #10 Role is pretty much a no-brainer.
I'd rest Hugo tomorrow, I'm mindful of the Woodrow double in the FA Cup Replay- and also considering the type of player we need at the minute. I like Hugo don't get me wrong, but we need to start getting a bit uglier in terms of our style of play in my opinion- especially in Away Games, which Hugo even on his best day isn't suited to. We'll have McCormack alongside him and hopefully the different dynamic will help to unlock the enigma that McCormack has become since Forest.
Team for Wolves
Bettinelli
Richards, Hutchinson, Bodurov, Kavanagh
Christensen, Hoogland, Fofana
Kacaniklic
Woodrow McCormack
As I've said from the outset, its highly unlikely we do end up getting something from tomorrows game; but I think the team I shown will give us a good balance between Common Sense and Energy with regard to the players involved. With the run of fixtures we have coming up from tomorrow onwards we're going to have to scratch and claw for every point- and we need to completely abandon the supposed "pretty" football and need to accept we aren't good enough to play possession football effectively.
Thanks for reading as always, the game tomorrow is the start of a horror run of fixtures for us- and with regard to our standing in the Relegation Battle it's largely out of our hands and we need to be reliant on other teams doing us a favour- specifically the teams facing Millwall. The Championship "Anyone can beat Anyone" mentality appears to have passed us by as of late, and we're very much in the Premier League mentality of beating the teams around us and chalking up facing the Top Teams to a learning curve with not much mind for a result. Anyway as I've said tomorrows game will be a battle from our perspective and we may come out on the wrong end of it- but if we really fight tomorrow we could pick something up. Unfortunately I have very little faith in Kit to motivate the players at the minute, but I hope to be proven wrong and it'll be a positive review tomorrow. Stay Tuned for that- and lets hope I'm wrong.
No comments:
Post a Comment