Wolverhampton Wanderers have had a much better season than many pundits predicted. After firing long-time manager Nuno Espirito Santo, many of us expected a dip for the boys from The Molineux. That hasn’t happened. The new Portuguese in the dugout Bruno Lage has overseen a vast improvement this season. Let’s not forget Wolves finished last season in 13th with just 45 points. To put that in perspective, they already have more points, this season with eight matches to go!
They are outsiders to sneak in a qualification spot here, but they make it to this series on merit. I waxed lyrical about how good West Ham has been earlier in this season in this series. Wolves sit just behind the other sides in this race, waiting to pounce on any mistakes.
In this series, Paul & I are analyzing the run-in for the European competition hopefuls. Liverpool & City are way out in front, so we haven’t bothered with them & Chelsea looks a pretty sure thing in third place.
We will look at the current standings, attempt to predict the results of the remaining matches for each side to see if we can gauge how the top of the Premier League table might look come the final whistle on May 21st.
Current Standings for European Places
4th Arsenal FC 28 matches played, +13 goal differential, 54 pts
5th Tottenham Hotspur 29 matches played, +11 goal differential, 51 pts
6th Manchester United 29 matches played, +8 goal differential, 50 pts
7th West Ham 30 matches played, +10 goal differential, 48 pts
8th Wolverhampton Wanderers 30 matches played, +5 goal differential, 46 pts
For the uninitiated, the 4th spot lands you in the Champions League & fifth and sixth get you a spot in the Europa League. Seventh gets you a place in the ugly step-sister of both of the competitions, the soulless shameless money grab that is the Europa Conference League.
Run In Predictions
Sat Apr 2, Villa, H, W, 2-1
Fri Apr 8, Newcastle, A, L, 0-1
Sun Apr 24, Burnley, A, D, 0-0
Sat Apr 30, Brighton, H, W, 3-1
Sat May 7, Chelsea, A, L, 1-2
Sun May 15, Norwich, H, L, 0-1
Championship Sunday, May 22, Liverpool, A, L, 1-2
TBC, Man City, H, L, 1-4
Final numbers: 53 pts, GD +1
Wolves Bottom Line
Wolves finish with a very respectable 50 plus point season. They just miss out on European football but have built themselves a nice platform to launch an assault on one of the Euro qualifying places next season. My predictions have them ending this season on a horror run of four straight losses. The caveat to that is they play the top 3 sides and Norwich in their last four fixtures.
Top Four/European Football Chances Analysis Series
United Arsenal FC Tottenham Wolves West Ham
Stuart Kavanagh is an up-and-coming sports journalist from Melbourne, Australia. Along with being the owner of the sports and entertainment website thepyrrhic.com, he is also the co-host of the ‘After Extra Time’ podcast. Football mad, he is always down for debate and discussion at @stueyissickofit on Twitter.