Wolves take on Leicester City on Sunday looking for three points to begin their climb up the table. It has been a tricky start for the west Midlanders back in the Championship so can they claim the spoils to kick-start their campaign? (Wolves 6/4, Leicester 7/4, draw 23/10 – Match Prices).
Last year’s nightmare campaign in the Premier League is now a thing of the past for Wolves and the focus is on trying to get back to the promised land.
But, as every manager says, the Championship is a tough league to get out of and none of the other 23 teams will do them any favours. Wolves have won just one of their first four games but it was always going to take time for the side to gel under new boss Stale Solbakken.
And the good thing is there are 42 more matches to go and many sides in the second tier of English football have bounced back from disappointing starts to secure promotion.
And that is surely what the Molineux faithful will demand, having been up and down the top two divisions in recent years.
The season began disappointingly with defeat to Leeds before a home victory over Barnsley and a draw with Derby followed to get the side back on track, but a 3-1 defeat in Cardiff was a kick in the teeth and sees the men in gold and black sit 19th in the table.
Home form will be vital to their chances and so victory over a Leicester side sitting in 10th place in the table this weekend is essential. And the good news is that the boss has a few players returning to the ranks to boost his option.
Skipper Karl Henry has missed the club’s last three matches with a hamstring strain but returned to training earlier this week and could well lead his men out, while full-back Kevin Foley is also back after his lengthy absence with a knee problem.
Razak Boukari and Bjorn Sigurdarson both missed the Cardiff defeat but have been passed fit to play on Sunday.
Solbakken had made it clear that he is on board the Wolves project for the long term and this week stressed that he is not just building a squad for promotion but to stabilise the club once they reach the top flight.
They were bold words and he will need his men to back them up against the Foxes and beyond this season.
Leicester have not graced the Premier League for eight years and finished ninth last season – nine points behind sixth-place Cardiff and boss Nigel Pearson will hope he is the man to lead the club back to the big time (Leicester 7/1f – Championship Outright).
They have made a decent start to their campaign with two wins and two defeats but they have yet to taste success away from the Walkers Stadium, with 2-1 defeats to both Charlton and Blackburn.
Pearson will want to get his first away win as soon as possible to avoid it become an issue among the players and a clash with their Midlands rivals will be seen as the perfect opportunity.
The former Middlesbrough defender should have Ritchie De Laet back in the side after he missed the 1-0 win over Blackpool after injuring his back in the warm-up.
He has trained this week and should make the starting XI, while all of Leicester’s international players returned from duty unscathed.
With both sides ambitious to get out of the division, this has the makings of a close match-up and it would be no surprise to see the spoils shared.
Want £200 Free? Click here to visit Bet365 and claim your free money.