Point at Wolves gives Brighton their record Premier League haul

Thank God for the football. Not something you normally hear on an Albion away day (rather thank God I was too drunk to remember the football) but then Wolves v Brighton is not your normal fixture.

Days out to Wolverhampton are ghastly. Most of the pubs are home fans only, stuck in some 1980s time warp.

Drinking options extend about as far as putting on a dodgy Peaky Blinders accent to blend in at the Walkabout or sit in a nightclub at 1pm in the afternoon sipping cocktails because it is the only place letting visiting supporters in. The hospitality of Birmingham is luckily not far away.

There is also some bizarre needle between the Albion and Wolves. One of the more surreal sights on an away day in the Amex era involved a mass punch up going on around the corner from Molineux, whilst one member of the WAB travelling party was being sick in a bush on a roundabout. Turns out those pre-game cocktails were not a good idea.

But the football used to make up for this. Brighton are the proud owners of a frankly obscene record against the Old Gold, having only lost six of 35 league meetings.

And that despite the Albion only finishing above Wolves in the football pyramid in seven of the 120 years that Brighton have existed.

The key word there is used. Because since Graham Potter took over, the Seagulls have lost their dominance of the fixture.

He has overseen two of those six defeats, or 33 percent of Brighton losses to Wolves in the history of the fixture. In three seasons. Good going.

So, what of this latest visit to Molineux? As one of the few away trips where the day becomes worryingly dependent on the football being decent, it would be a good time for Potter to do what all of his predecessors managed with surprising ease – take points from Wolves.

Wolves this season
It is fair to say that Wolves had gone a little stale by the end of last season when former manager Nuno stood down after four successful years at the helm.

The Old Gold found themselves in a similar boat to Brighton post-Chris Hughton, with all the risk that comes with appointing a new manager with a different approach to the old.

Nuno was defensively solid and his sides good at grinding out results. Would appointing a more attacking manager end up posing a threat to Wolves’ Premier League status, as had happened when the likes of Stoke City, West Brom and Southampton had sought entertainment as well as points?

There was no need to worry. New boss Bruno Lage has been a roaring success, leading Wolves to eighth spot in the table.

They are six points behind Manchester United in sixth but do have two games in hand on the Red Devils, so a strong finish to the season could yet see European football coming to Molineux in 2022-23.

Team news
Yves Bissouma is back from suspension and given the form he was in when Brighton conquered North London prior to his 10th booking of the season, he surely has to return to the starting XI.

Who for is a question that nobody other than Potter can answer. Moises Caicedo cannot be dropped. Enock Mwepu blows hot and cold, yes, but he is a game changer on his day.

Alexis Mac Allister has been a consistent performer in recent months. Leandro Trossard looks good on the left. Danny Welbeck scored and was man-of-the-match in the 2-2 draw with Southampton.

Adam Webster was poor but needs minutes under his belt to get back to his best. It is a bit of a chicken and egg whereby you have to accept mistakes from Webster for the long term good of his game and the Albion’s defence.

Tariq Lamptey and Pascal Gross can probably lay claim to recalls too having been rested against the Saints. It looks like Potter will need to take some seriously strong mind bending substances to come up with a formation that is whacky even by his high standards to fit them all in.

The good news for Brighton is that Ruben Neves is expected to miss out for Wolves. The midfielder has spent the past six weeks injured and although he is now back in training, the visit of the Albion comes a little soon for him to feature.

Key battles
Brighton v Wolves matches used to be a case of Adama Traore against Dan Burn. For a player who has been turned into some Bobby Moore-type figure since leaving the Amex for Newcastle United, Burn was actually pretty dreadful whenever he came up against the powerful winger.

Nobody in blue and white needs worry about Traore on this occasion as he is currently on loan at Barcelona. Rather than keeping Traore out, Albion focus can instead shift to what happens at the other end.

The ability of Conor Coady has long been questioned by Brighton fans due to the fact Gareth Southgate picks him for England over Lewis Dunk.

Coady though is a quality operator and a leader, playing for a side who have finished above the Albion in every season since Wolves won promotion to the top flight in 2018.

If Brighton are to come away with Molineux with their first win against Wolves under Potter, then Welbeck finding a way to escape from the Old Gold captain will be central to that.

Recent form
Wolves have been in patchy form of late with poor results traced back to the moment Neves was ruled out. Since mid-March, their only win has come in a local derby against an Aston Villa outfit blowing hot and cold under Steven Gerrard.

Defeats at Burnley and Newcastle in their past two matches should give Brighton optimism ahead of the trip to Molineux.

• 24/04/22: Burnley 1-0 Wolves
• 08/04/22: Newcastle 1-0 Wolves
• 02/04/22: Wolves 2-1 Aston Villa
• 18/03/22: Wolves 2-3 The Leeds United
• 13/03/22: Everton 0-1 Wolves
• 10/03/22: Wolves 4-0 Watford

Brighton’s recent form has been more up and down than a lift in the Burj Khalifa. Draw with Norwich, win at Arsenal and Spurs, decent showing in defeat against Manchester City, throw away a two-goal lead versus Southampton.

Wolves seems like the sort of game Brighton can win, as does Manchester United at home followed by defeat at The Leeds United and then a result against West Ham United. Do well against the good sides, play crap against shit has been the Albion’s mantra in these past two seasons.

• 24/04/22: Brighton 2-2 Southampton
• 20/04/22: Man City 3-0 Brighton
• 16/04/22: Spurs 0-1 Brighton
• 09/04/22: Arsenal 1-2 Brighton
• 02/04/22: Brighton 0-0 Norwich
• 16/03/22: Brighton 0-2 Spurs

Last time Brighton played Wolves
It was the night thet the Albion announcing tickets sold rather than actual people through the gate was made to look utterly ridiculous, sparking the great #Clickbait debate.

The record books will forever show that 30,362 were in attendance. A combination of a Wednesday night kick off, people not wanting to risk catching Covid and having to isolate over Christmas, and the season ticket sharing scheme meant there was barely half that number in the ground.

Those who did turn up were rewarded with a 1-0 defeat, stretching the Albion’s winless run to three months. Romain Saiss got the only goal when volleying home a Neves ball over the top following some questionable defending.

Wolves v Brighton head-to-head
Already covered his, haven’t we? The Albion’s record against Wolves was outrageous until Potter came along. Now, not so good.

No better time for Brighton to put that right with the carrot of a record Premier League points haul dangling in front of them.

A reason why Wolves will win
The sensible money goes on the draw.

A reason why Brighton will win
Again, the sensible money goes on the draw.

Wolves v Brighton betting
Read the two paragraphs above and draw your own conclusion about what is coming next. The draw paid out once again last weekend against Southampton and odds of 9/4 look good value for another stalemate.

Predictions
Prediction of score: Wolves 1-1 Brighton
Prediction of someone being sick on a roundabout again: Yes