Match Preview: Wolverhampton Wanderers v Brighton
Brighton might be on a Usain Bolt paced sprint to relegation, but if there is one opponent they can turn their wretched form around against then it is Wolverhampton Wanderers.
For reasons that nobody seems to be able to explain, the Albion have been a bogey side to Wolves from the moment we first met in our first league encounter back in December 1979. The Old Gold have been the higher placed team for virtually our entire existence, yet they very rarely get the better of Brighton no matter how bad we are at the time.
That should at least give those of us heading to Molineux some straws to clutch at. Because let’s be honest, after two wretched home defeats in which the players appear to have downed tools and the manager has looked completely clueless, we need all the help we can get.
Who are Wolverhampton Wanderers?
Formed in 1877 and founder members of the Football League, Wolverhampton Wanderers are one of the grandest and most pioneering sides in English football history. In 1953 they became one of the first clubs in the country to install floodlights and they put these to good use by hosting glamour friendlies against the leading European sides of the era such as Real Madrid and Hungarian side Honved. Wolves have been crowned champions on three occasions and won four FA Cups, although the most recent or those came as long ago as 1960. Since Chinese conglomerate group Fosun International took over in 2016 and assumed links with the Portuguese super agent Jorge Mendes however, the good times look set to return to Molineux thanks to a combination of a lot of money and access to some of the continents best players.
What are they like now?
Since Mendes was appointed as an unofficial adviser or whatever other nonsense job title they gave him, Wolves have not only secured the services of Nuno Espírito Santo as manager but have also been able to bring in the likes of Portugal goalkeeper Rui Patricio on a free transfer from Sporting Lisbon and midfielder Joao Mourinho for £6m from Monaco. For some context of what an outrageously good deal that is, the Albion paid nearly three times that for Alireza Jahanbakhsh. As a result, Wolves have breezed through the Premier League in their first top flight season for six years and could yet finish as “the best of the rest” in seventh place. For all the talk about it being solely down to Mendes and his clientele, Nuno still deserves a lot of credit for knitting it together so effectively. As Fulham have proven this season, it’s one thing spending big money on supposedly good players, but it’s quite another turning them into a good team.
Which players should we be worried about?
We’ve mentioned Patricio and Moutinho and another Mendes client to keep an eye on is Ruben Neves. Neves took Anthony Knockaert’s crown as Championship Player of the Season but unlike Knockaert, he’s turned in consistently good performances since stepping up a division without turning into a petulant little shit. He has four goals from midfield and given how poor Davy Propper and Dale Stephens have looked in recent weeks, he could be in for a profitable afternoon.
What’s the Albion’s record against Wolverhampton Wanderers like?
Ridiculously good. Think of what Plucky Little Bournemouth are to us and you’ve nearly got what we are to Wolves. In 31 meetings between Brighton and Wolves, the Old Gold have only triumphed six times. They didn’t taste a league for victory in the fixture in the first 14 clashes and the Seagulls’ record is made even more ridiculous when you consider the fact that we’ve only managed to finish higher than Wolves in the league standings on 13 occasions in our 128 year history.
What’s the best WeAreBrighton.com memory of Wolverhampton Wanderers away?
Chris Hughton will be hoping his side can summon up a performance and result similar to our last Easter visit to Molineux. That was on Good Friday 2017 when two goals from an unplayable Knockaert gave the Albion a 2-0 win and one foot in the Premier League. The job was finished off three days later with a 2-1 home victory over Wigan Atheltic, which features in our WAB Friday Quiz this week.
What’s the worst WeAreBrighton.com memory of Wolverhampton Wanderers away?
Hughton will be less keen for a repeat of the fate that befell his predecessor when the Albion went to Wolves in December 2014. A 1-1 draw at Molineux made it one win in 18 games and finally brought Sami Hyypia’s spell as Brighton boss to an end. A wretched day nearly came to a wretched end for one member of the WeAreBrighton.com team after one too many beers at Birmingham’s Christmas Market saw him fall asleep while perched precariously close to the edge of a fountain. Thankfully, West Midlands’ finest police officers were on hand to rescue the situation.
Who’s played for both sides?
Brighton have taken their fair share of successful players on loan from Wolves over the past 20 years. Ívar Ingimarsson spent the second half of the 2002-03 season on loan at Withdean and was as cool as you’d expect a centre back from Iceland to be. Unfortunately, a combination of the Albion’s relegation at the end of that season and Reading’s addiction to signing every player we had on loan at that period in time meant that he made a permanent move to the Madjeski Stadium rather than signing on full time with the Seagulls. Sam Vokes hit three goals in 14 appearances as Gus Poyet tried to unsuccessfully fill the void left by his decision to let Glenn Murray walk away, Stephen Ward was voted our WeAreBrighton.com Player of the Season in 2013-14 after he spent the campaign on loan at the Amex and Rajiv van La Parra had a fruitful six game spell around Christmas 2015.
Other than football, what is Wolverhampton famous for?
Wolverhampton grew initially as a market town specialising in the wool trade. That focus changed to steel, coal mining and er, lock making during the Industrial Revolution and these days it has a large aerospace industry. Other claims to fame include the town being home to the first set of automated traffic lights in Princes Square in 1927. The country’s first pedestrian barriers were also erected here seven years later. One Direction’s Liam Payne is probably the Wolverhampton’s greatest son for his brilliant music career and having a child with Cheryl.
Where’s the betting value for Wolverhampton Wanderers v Brighton?
Since beating Crystal Palace 2-1 over a month ago, we’ve barely even registered a meaningful shot on goal in the Premier League, let alone scored. Based on that, pile into as many markets that involve Brighton not scoring as possible. Wolves to keep a clean sheet is evens, Brighton to score under 0.5 goals can be taken at 51/50 and Wolves to win to nil is 13/8.
Prediction
The Albion might have an impressive record against Wolves, but nobody in their right mind could say with any confidence that we’re going to win another game this season based on the last two performances – let alone away from home against a side hunting a seventh place finish. 2-0 to the hosts.
