Wolverhampton Wanderers currently sit 16th in the Premier League after 32 games played, successfully dragging themselves 14 points away from the relegation zone with just six games left to play in the season.
Vitor Pereira will be looking to secure their safety as soon as possible, with their next three fixtures including Leicester City at home, sandwiched by both Manchester clubs away from home.
20/04/25
Man Utd (A)
26/04/25
Leicester City (H)
02/05/25
Man City (A)
10/05/25
Brighton (H)
18/05/25
Crystal Palace (A)
25/05/25
Brentford (H)
With Ipswich Town’s next two games being Arsenal and Newcastle, Wolves could secure their safety in their next two matches, with a win in either game and Ipswich losing to either of their opponents.
Pereira has done a brilliant job turning things around and hitting some nice form in recent weeks, all without this season’s star man, Matheus Cunha. But who exactly has been key in their four-game winning streak?
The key figures in Wolves' hot streak
In their last five Premier League games, Wolves have won four times, beating Southampton 2-1, West Ham 1-0, Ipswich 2-1 and Tottenham 4-2, as well as drawing against Everton 1-1.
Pereria’s side have shown great flexibility, getting results with more possession and control in certain games such as Ipswich and Everton, but also managing victories with less of the ball against Southampton, West Ham and Tottenham.
Jorgen Strand-Larsen has netted five times in his last four games, scoring 55% of Wolves’ goals in their four-game winning streak. This excellent run of form has been so impressive, that Cunha’s return saw him on the bench, unable to replace Larsen, Marshall Munetsi or Jean-Ricner Bellegarde in the side.
The Brazilian has had an interesting week, biting back at Wolves fans online before their game against Tottenham, upsetting plenty in the process, leaving him in danger of becoming the new Jamie O’Hara.
Wolves' new Jamie O'Hara
O’Hara joined Wolves in 2011, initially on loan before making a permanent move. The Englishman made 57 appearances for the club, scoring six goals, providing six assists and totalling 4,247 minutes played.
Despite being the club where O’Hara made his most appearances, he is largely seen as a villain by the Old Gold faithful after a huge fallout in his playing days – notably engaging in a confrontation with supporters following a 2-0 defeat to Blackburn Rovers in March 2012.
Since then, O’Hara has been apologetic on the matter, insisting he was wrong to fall out with the Wolves fans and admitting he should have “shut his mouth and played football”. The midfielder-turned-pundit ultimately left on a free transfer in 2014, after his contract was terminated by mutual consent.
After the past week Cunha has had, he is in dangerous territory of this happening to him, with many expecting the £90k-per-week star to leave the club in the summer, amid interest from the likes of Manchester United.
Goals
0.46
0.60
Assists
0.26
0.15
xG
0.35
0.30
xAG
0.12
0.28
Progressive Carries
3.95
3.92
Progressive Passes
3.21
4.79
Shots Total
2.52
3.68
Goals/Shot
0.16
0.16
Key Passes
1.03
1.88
Shot-Creating Actions
2.88
4.33
Successful Take-Ons
2.36
2.17
When comparing Cunha’s underlying metrics from last season and this season, you can see he has taken that extra step, becoming the main man for Wolves this season and improving his overall output, especially adding more goals. He has also become more of a focal point, taking plenty of shots and being the primary playmaker of the team.
Ex-Wolves manager, Gary O’Neil, praised Cunha for his “sensational” football IQ, stating that “he’s the one who can unlock doors”. It would be a shame for such talents to be overshadowed.
The 25-year-old has scored 16 goals and provided four assists in his 30 appearances so far this season, and even if he is to leave in the summer, Cunha will hope to leave on good terms – not in the same way O’Hara did.
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