Wolverhampton Wanderers head into their next Premier League match full of confidence, despite the daunting task of Arne Slot’s table-topping Liverpool that awaits them.
Vitor Pereira‘s Old Gold have picked up two wins on the bounce in all competitions with two clean sheets also in tow, with the potential for a shock result to be on the cards if the Reds are still bruised from their shock FA Cup exit at the hands of Plymouth Argyle.
Of course, nobody will be expecting Wolves to pick up anything at the intimidating fortress of Anfield, but the ex-Al Shabab boss will still be keeping his fingers crossed all the same that a shock result can be achieved, especially if Matheus Cunha and his other star talents are firing on all cylinders.
The numbers behind Wolves’ standout players this season
Cunha continues to lead by example for his relegation-threatened side, with his emphatic strike last time out clinching a comfortable FA Cup win versus Blackburn Rovers.
That powerful effort bumped Cunha’s goal total for the season all the way up to a stunning 12 from 25 clashes, with no real concerns now on Wolves’ end too regarding his commitment to the club, considering the Brazilian penned a new deal at Molineux until 2029 at the start of February.
It could be argued that the Old Gold do over-rely on the ex-Atletico Madrid man to get them out of sticky situations, with their most potent player now – away from an injury-stricken Jorgen Strand Larsen – being left-back Rayan Aït-Nouri.
He is an attack-minded defender after all, which can clearly be seen in his sterling Premier League numbers this campaign, with the Algerian currently boasting three goals and five assists in the top-flight.
Whilst Pereira will be pleased he has such a high-octane option available to him down the left, he will want more from the attackers nearer to Cunha, with an annoyance at Molineux that an ideal Cunha partner – who is now outperforming Aït-Nouri – left in 2022.
The former Wolves “magician” now outperforming Aït-Nouri
Wolves have had to heartbreakingly wave goodbye to a whole host of stunning stars over the past couple of years, with Ruben Neves relocating to Saudi Arabia for megabucks, whilst the likes of Pedro Neto and Diogo Jota moved up the food chain in the Premier League.
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Morgan Gibbs-White is another sale that will sting when looking back, even if the Old Gold did manage to sell their homegrown product for a steep £42.5m.
Fresh off the back of scoring and assisting 22 goals on loan at Sheffield United, Forest pushed the boat out to land the now England international which is a decision they’ll look back on and applaud.
Having only ever tallied up a measly four goal contributions from 88 appearances at Molineux, it’s clear that Wolves wanted to cash in whilst they could, evidently not realising the “magician” – as he has been labelled by statistician Statman Dave – would turn into a Premier League star.
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Cunha vs Gibbs-White in 2024/25 PL |
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|---|---|---|
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Stat (* = per game) |
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Games played |
23 |
20 |
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Goals scored |
11 |
5 |
|
Assists |
4 |
4 |
|
Shots* |
3.1 |
1.8 |
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Key passes* |
1.7 |
1.7 |
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Big chances missed |
2 |
2 |
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Big chances created |
12 |
6 |
|
Total duels won* |
5.5 |
5.4 |
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Stats by Sofascore |
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Looking at the table above, Gibbs-White would have been a top partner for Cunha to bounce off if he had somehow remained in the West Midlands to this day, with the Forest number ten up to nine goal contributions in the league after scoring last time out in his side’s 7-0 demolition job of Brighton and Hove Albion.
That is one more than Aït-Nouri, with a worry that Wolves need more firepower moving forward to complement Cunha’s explosiveness in order to beat the drop.
This won’t be the last time Wolves fall victim to a blunder like this, as Gibbs-White continues to go from strength to strength under ex-Old Gold boss Nuno Espirito Santo, whilst his former employers hold on for dear life.
Where Are They Now
Your star player or biggest flop has left the club but what are they doing in the present day? This article is part of Football FanCast’s Where Are They Now series.
