Wolverhampton Wanderers Match Preview

West Ham United picked up a vital point on the road at Everton before the international break and tonight, they are back on the road looking to build on that 1-1 draw at Goodison Park with maximum points when they travel to Molineux to take on Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The Hammers beat tonight’s opponents twice last season to achieve one of six doubles but this campaign, it’s been a very different story.

After failing to do doubles over both Crystal Palace and Newcastle United recently, they have another chance to replicate that feat here tonight. Having said that though, Wolves did beat the East Londoners in Florida back in July.

This would have been Julen Lopetegui’s first return to the Black Country but just over a month after beating his former club in the reverse fixture, he was relieved of his duties as Head-Coach in the East End.

Both of these club’s former bosses were under pressure to claim victory in the reverse fixture back on December 9. Although the visitors were the unfortunate ones to come away from Stratford with defeat, former Irons’ midfielder Gary O’Neil was given one more game to save his job. Unfortunately though, the next encounter didn’t go well for him either and a home defeat to newly-promoted Ipswich Town was the final straw for the hierarchy in the West Midlands.

Now, Vítor Pereira and Graham Potter have taken the hotseats at their respective clubs and Potter will want to make sure that his team further widen the gap to their opponents here.

As always, there will be a large number of supporters from the capital travelling up for the fixture and if they were to see their side leave here with nothing, the only change that it will make to the Premier League table is the number of points that Pereira’s side will have, as the Hammers will still have a better goal-difference after the game.

It would be fair to say that Potter hasn’t had a good record under the lights recently but his first game in charge of the club was on a Tuesday and he achieved a 3-2 victory over Fulham. Those in the away end here will be hoping that sequence continues.

Konstantinos Mavropanos and Emerson Palmieri are likely to retain their places for this match after being welcomed back for the encounter against the Toffees.

Carlos Soler was dropped from the starting line-up for the 1-0 triumph over Arsenal at The Emirates Stadium back on the February 22 and hasn’t been in favour since. He will be desperate for a recall here.

It will be interesting to see what kind of reception that former Wolves captain Max Kilman receives from the majority inside the Stadium tonight, following his switch to Stratford in the summer. Craig Dawson is also expected to feature against his former club.

The match is a 7:45pm kick-off and the referee is Tony Harrington.