MY ACCOUNT
– Wolves have won three of their last four home Premier League games
– Leeds have lost four of last five PL road trips and won just six away points all season
– Recommended Bet: Back Wolves to win
Wolves and Leeds meet at Molineux on Saturday for what is likely to be a tense survival scrap between clubs managed by Spanish coaches.
Julen Lopetegui had no experience of a relegation fight on his CV before taking up the position in the Black Country, but the ex-Porto, Spain, Real Madrid and Sevilla boss has proven his ability to turn Wolves fortunes around by lifting them from 20th to 13th place.
Leeds were 19th in the table, two points from safety, when Javi Gracia was brought in last month, but they remain precariously placed above only Southampton and still a point away from escaping the bottom three.
The Whites battled hard to take a home point against Brighton last Saturday while Wolves left Newcastle with nothing to show from a stirring second-half fightback 24 hours later.
Team news
Wolves are likely to show a couple of changes in attack from the side that began the 2-1 defeat on Tyneside with Hee Chan Hwang and Pedro Neto advancing their claims to start with bright second-half cameos.
Pablo Sarabia missed out with a heel injury last week and might be able to return to action on Saturday, although Joao Moutinho is expected to keep his place behind Raul Jimenez in attack.
Boubacar Traore (groin), Diego Costa (knee) and Hugo Bueno (hamstring) are facing longer spells on the sidelines while Sasa Kalajdzic and Chiquinho (both knee) are out of the rest of the season.
Leeds have been dealt a major blow with the news that Tyler Adams will miss the trip to Molineux and the USA national team’s upcoming CONCACAF Nations League matches against Grenada and El Salvador because of a hamstring injury.
The likely midfield combination against Wolves will be Marc Roca and Weston McKennie, but Gracia said Darko Gyabi and Archie Gray could see more minutes while Adams is out.
Liam Cooper will return to the squad on Saturday, but Stuart Dallas and Adam Forshaw are still unavailable.
The stats
Lopetegui has won both of his previous meetings against teams led by the current Leeds head coach with his Sevilla sides beating Gracia’s Valencia 1-0 in La Liga and 3-0 in the Copa Del Rey the season before last.
Against Brighton, Jack Harrison became the first Leeds player to score a goal and an own goal in a league game since Tom Lees in August 2011 versus Hull and first in a top-flight match since Wilbur Cush in September 1959 against Manchester United.
The Whites have earned four points from their three Premier League games under Gracia — as many as they had in their 10 games before his arrival.
Prediction
Wolves’ performances have been following a pattern of flat first halves followed by energised efforts after the break.
It would seem that Lopetegui sets his team out not to lose the game before releasing the handbrake and allowing them to chase victory.
Leeds remain unconvincing in both penalty areas and could now become vulnerable in midfield after the injury to Adams.
The hosts have the physicality and craft in their engine room to come through this test with all three points even if their own strikeforce has been failing to deliver.
Their home record under Lopetegui reads three wins and two narrow 1-0 losses, at least one of which they had good opportunities to win, while Leeds have picked up the joint-fewest amount of points on the road in the top flight.
Back Wolves to win at 5/4 with LiveScore Bet.
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