After an entertaining draw in the London Derby at Stamford Bridge, Tottenham are looking to extend their unbeaten start to their season in the home clash against Wolves.
Spurs were second-best for much of their game against Chelsea but they managed a 2-2 draw in a late flurry while Wolves also shared points in a 0-0 draw against Fulham.
TOT vs WOL Match Details
Date: Saturday, 20th August 2022
Time: 12:30 (BST) / 17:00 (IST)
Venue: Tottenham Hotspurs Stadium, London
TOT vs WOL Match Preview
A fierce London derby that spilled out drama throughout the 90 minutes both on the pitch and on the touchline finished in a 2-2 draw with Tottenham coming out on the happier side of the result. Kalidou Koulibaly scored the opening goal of the London derby with a swift volley unmarked from a corner before Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg leveled things up after the break amidst controversy over Richarlison blocking Edouard Mendy’s view in an offside position. Reece James restored Chelsea’s lead in a move that disjointed Spur’s backline but Harry Kane popped up with a late-minute header from a corner to settle a point as official Anthony Taylor and VAR Mike Dean simply ignore the fact Christian Romero pulled Marc Cucurella’s hair in the build-up. Though the refereeing did favour them on both the occasions they scored much to Chelsea’s outrage, Antonio Conte’s team still chucked out a point on a day their performance wasn’t up to scratch. At full-time, the Italian got in a kind of scuffle with counterpart Thomas Tuchel as the German didn’t let go of the arms following a handshake and later received red cards. Tensions blew up during goal celebrations too with both taking the chance to get in each other’s face. The FA have since charged them but Conte has only been fined rather than facing a touchline ban. The manager’s presence will be vital for Spurs against Wolves wishing to return to winning habits in their home where Southampton were thrashed 4-1 by them on the opening day of the season. The home form is jovial for Tottenham as in the last eight games they won seven, lost once and scored 24 goals but suffered defeat in the previous meeting against Wolves at home in February this year making it four losses in seven games against them at home. Conte knows anything other than three points will stagnate their early momentum to earn the top four place in a period Spurs have to play more games than ever in coming weeks.
Bruno Lage’s Wolves have a disappointing start to the campaign obtaining just a point in first two games of the season. The team could have suffered back to back losses following their 2-1 defeat to Leeds in the first weekend of the season had their star goalkeeper Jose Sa not saved Fulham’s in-form goal scorer Alexander Mitrovic’s penalty in the 0-0 stalemate. The problem of not having a proper striker or a firing one at their disposal bites them again in these two matches of the new season although the recent transfer market purchases will solve a lot of issues in their approach to games. Firstly, striker Goncalo Guedes from Valencia is sure to provide Wolves with goals they often lacked in the absence of Raul Jimenez and secondly club record deal for midfielder Matheus Nunes is an excellent move bringing a top-quality player with drive, energy and goals from that part of the pitch. Paired with Ruben Neves, the midfield of the club looks charismatic. The $49m signing from Sporting CP is more important at this stage considering Wolves let go of starlet Morgan Gibbs-White to Nottingham Forest, their record signing, profiting $52m from the deal. Clearly, Wolves have done brilliant business in the market and the time is now to use their signings to their full potential in a season Bruno Lage’s men should aim for Europe. The focus was the same but a late season downfall in the previous season kept a five points gap from a possible continental football berth. For this weekend, Wolves are focusing to build up some stability as they are yet to earn three points from their last nine games in the Premier League. Facing Tottenham won’t be an easy task in the way they have played so far although Bruno Lage has got over one against this Spurs side in this away clash last season. But Antonio Conte’s team is a different proposition this time around. Like Spurs, Wolves will have to be up for each game which is a difficult job to do considering so many clubs will be vying for a European football spot this season.
Recent Form
TOT: DW
WOL: DL
TOT vs WOL Team News
Tottenham have a big injury blow for the game as Christian Romero won’t be lining up in the defence feeling a bit of pain in his adductor after the London derby with Chelsea last weekend. Manager Antonio Conte dismissed reports of a long-term layoff for Romero reiterating that it is not a serious issue but a precautionary measure for the Argentinian to miss the game. Another defender, Clement Lenglet has returned back from a muscle injury which kept him out for the last game although he is unlikely to start against Wolves with Davinson Sanchez replacing Romero in the back three. Oliver Skipp will take recovery sessions at the end of the week and if everything goes well the midfielder may be available at the end of this month. All the other players are fit for the game. Despite the return of Richarlison, Dejan Kulusevski will retain his place up front alongside Harry Kane and Son who is yet to score a goal against this opposition in seven appearances.
Wolves will try to give as many minutes to their recent arrivals as possible against Spurs with striker Goncalo Guedes joining the club from Valencia a week ago and record signing Matheus Nunes from Sporting CP having only two days to train for the game after the transfer. Manager Bruno Lage is expected to keep his starting lineup intact with Guedes coming in while Joao Moutinho, Raul Jimenez and Chiquinho remain out due to their respective injuries. Nelson Semedo and Adama Traore featured from the bench in the second half against Fulham after recovering from injuries and the duo will be back again for this clash.
TOT vs WOL Predicted Lineups
TOT: Hugo Lloris; Davinson Sanchez, Eric Dier, Ben Davies; Emerson, Hojbjerg, Rodrigo Bentancur, Ryan Sessegnon; Dejan Kulusevski, Harry Kane, Son
WOL: Jose Sa; Jonny, Nathan Collins, Max Kilman, Ait-Nouri; Leander Dendoncker, Ruben Neves; Daniel Podence, Pedro Neto; Hwang Hee-chan
TOT vs WOL Head to Head
Raul Jimenez and Leander Dendoncker struck within 12 minutes between the goals in the first half to hand Wolves a sublime 2-0 victory over Spurs at their home in February. Spurs won two league meetings prior to this fixture after losing a 3-2 thriller in 2020 with Jimenez being their headache again in scoring the winner. To the relief for Antonio Conte’s men, he won’t be available for this game due to a knee injury.
TOT vs WOL Dream11 Team Prediction
GK: Sa (9)
DEF: Royal (9), Dier (9), Kilman (8.5), Davies (8.5)
MID: Kulusevski (9.5), Hojbjerg (9.5), Neves (9.5)
FW: Neto (8.5), Kane (9.5), Son (9)
Jose Sa carried his excellent form from last season by saving a penalty and making 3 big saves against Fulham with 1.39 shots faced earning the player of the match award.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg scored Spur’s first goal in the draw against Chelsea and completed 89% of his passes. He won 3 out of his 4 tackles attempted while making 6 clearances. In two games combined, he has made 13 recoveries.
Harry Kane has now scored 5 goals in his last five games in the Premier League. Kane is also one goal shy of scoring 250 goals for Spurs.
