As Saturday afternoon dey come, Sunderland go travel go Molineux to face Wolverhampton Wanderers wey don already chop relegation. Di Black Cats dey aim to climb back into top half of Premier League table and push towards European spots. After winning di reverse fixture 2-0 at Stadium of Light for October, dem dey look to complete dia first league double over di Old Gold since 1949-50 season.
Wolves no fit wait for 2025-26 campaign to end. Rob Edwards side dey merely play for pride after dia relegation to Championship wey dem confirm earlier dis month. Since dem beat reigning Premier League champions Liverpool 2-1 for Molineux and draw 2-2 with Brentford for March, di Old Gold don suffer three successive defeats to relegation-threatened trio West Ham, Leeds, and Tottenham by aggregate score of 8-0. Dem lose 1-0 at home to Tottenham last weekend.
Wolves be di Premier League lowest scorers dis season with 24 goals and don fail to score in division-high 18 of dia 34 games. Di last team to no score for more matches na Norwich City for 2021-22 campaign wey dem record 22 games without goal. Under Edwards, Wolves don accumulate enough points to move clear of Derby County unwanted 11-point total from 2007-08, wey be di lowest in PL history. Dem now dey aim to climb above managerless Burnley off di foot of di table, with just three points separating Wolves from di Clarets in 19th spot.
Wolves head into Saturday contest don lose all four of dia Premier League matches against promoted teams dis season. But dem fit take comfort from dia run of seven home league games without defeat against Sunderland, with three wins and four draws. Sunderland go dey look to shake off disappointment of dia humbling 5-0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest last week. Dat one na dia first home league loss by five or more goals since 6-1 thrashing by Birmingham City back for April 1958. Four of those goals dem concede for di opening 37 minutes of a bizarre game wey catch everyone off guard for Premier League.
Regis Le Bris don warn im Black Cats players say, when you drop your standards just by 10%, your opponent can kill you. Although dat result represent dia fourth home loss for five matches and don see dem slip to 12th for di table, Sunderland remain for di mix for European qualification. Dem dey sit just three points behind Bournemouth for seventh with four games remaining. Sunderland travel to Molineux dis weekend don concede nine goals across dia last two league games, with di aforementioned loss to Forest taking place after a 4-3 defeat to Aston Villa. Only once for dia league history don di Black Cats concede at least four goals for three successive games, wey happen between September and October for 1928.
Di Wearside outfit don fare better for recent encounters with Wolves, though. Dem don keep clean sheet for each of dia last four league meetings, a run wey dey stretch back to April 2012, including back-to-back wins by aggregate score of 5-0. For Wolves side, Edwards don confirm say goalkeeper Jose Sa go dey out for up to two weeks with ankle injury, so Daniel Bentley go take im place between di sticks. Ladislav Krejci, Sam Johnstone, and Enso Gonzalez dey also sidelined, but Yerson Mosquera dey available for selection after serving two-match suspension. Di defender go return to three-man backline to play alongside Santiago Bueno and Toto Gomes.
Tolu Arokodare and Hwang Hee-Chan go both dey hope to force dia way into di first XI, but Edwards fit decide to lineup with Mateus Mane and either Jean-Ricner Bellegarde or Rodrigo Gomes for behind central striker Adam Armstrong. As for Sunderland, Romaine Mundle remain injured, but Bertrand Traore, Jocelin Ta Bi, and Nilson Angulo fit return to matchday squad either on Saturday or next weekend. Trai Hume fit be replaced at left-back by Reinildo Mandava, and Chemsdine Talbi be option to take place of Chris Rigg on di right flank. But midfield trio of Granit Xhaka, Noah Sadiki, and Habib Diarra go remain intact.
Wilson Isidor be di Premier League player wey don play more games than anyone else without completing di 90 minutes for any of im 29 appearances. Di Frenchman fit be handed 12th start of di season dis weekend, but Le Bris dey more likely to stick with Brian Brobbey up front. Considering how vulnerable Wolves and Sunderland don look for defence for recent weeks, we expect di net to ripple at both ends of di pitch dis weekend. But Sunderland go still be regarded as favourites and go get enough quality for dia side to claim three valuable points to keep dia top-seven hopes alive.
Do you have a news tip for NNN? Please email us at editor @ nnn.ng
