Page 104 – The Pulse of Football

Aug

2023

Premier League Preview: Five talking points going into the opening games

Premier League football is back and the opening round of fixtures has thrown up a number of intriguing clashes. In the first of a new series for the 2023/24 campaign, a look at some of the talking points ahead of the matches this weekend.

By Sam McGuire, Premier League expert

A big test for Burnley

Burnley coasted to the Championship title under Vincent Kompany and have done some good business during the summer transfer window. The Clarets could surprise a few people this season and a good place to start would be on matchday one at home to Manchester City.

The champions will view this as a must-win if they’re to retain their Premier League crown. After all, away fixtures against newly promoted sides are considered bankers if you aspire to claim top spot. Pep Guardiola’s men romped to a 6-0 win over Burnley in the FA Cup last term too in what was a humbling defeat for Kompany. Lessons will have been learnt from that though.

City weren’t at their best in the Community Shield and goal machine Erling Haaland hasn’t been at his destructive best in pre-season, so maybe this is a good time to play the treble winners. Turf Moor will be well up for this clash and promoted clubs have caused upsets in the past on opening day. The potential is there.

A quick start for the Gunners

Arsenal have an opportunity to make a statement this weekend. Fresh from defeating Manchester City on penalties to claim the Community Shield, Mikel Arteta’s side kick off their campaign on Saturday afternoon at home to Nottingham Forest.

They put Forest to the sword at the Emirates last season, winning 5-0 in October, but they then lost 1-0 away to Steve Cooper’s men in the penultimate game of the campaign.

This shouldn’t be viewed as a formality for Arsenal as nothing is in the Premier League but an impressive start here would send a clear message that last season was not a one-off. After heavy investment this summer, the pressure is on Arteta and his players to deliver a title challenge. What better way to kick things off than at home to a team tipped by many to be in a relegation battle?

Can Brighton handle the pressure?

The Seagulls have done some clever business this summer and are viewed by many as a team who will be in the European mix this season. Roberto De Zerbi has been backed in the market and the club have managed to keep hold of a number of players despite interest from a host of top clubs. The only real departure (so far) has been Alexis Mac Allister.

Hosting a newly promoted team, Luton Town, is a potential banana skin but if Brighton do have hopes of another top-six finish, this has to be three points. Luton haven’t done that much in the transfer market this summer and are favourites to head straight back down to the Championship.

However, there’s no pressure on them here. All of the pressure and expectation is on Brighton and this could play a part in the outcome.

Brighton are yet to win an opening match at home since returning to the Premier League. They have a 100% record away from the Amex but have lost all three matches in front of their home fans on matchday one. Something else to ponder.

Weakening a rival

Aston Villa and Newcastle United both had impressive 2022/23 campaigns.

The Magpies claimed a Champions League place while Villa claimed a Europa Conference League spot after a remarkable turnaround following the hiring of Unai Emery. Both clubs have done some clever business this season and they head into this campaign with aspirations of another assault on the European places.

This match-up gives both teams an opportunity to land an early blow on one of their rivals. Last season, Newcastle ran out 4-0 winners over Villa early on in the campaign before suffering a heavy 3-0 defeat to Emery’s men in April.

That loss was just one of the five suffered by the Magpies during their memorable season but it was a fairly one-sided game. Villa had twice as many shots as their opponents and limited Newcastle to just two shots on target. It will be interesting to see how Newcastle set-up on Saturday evening.

The battle of the rebuilds at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea and Liverpool are both in transition right now.

The Blues hired former Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino this summer and they’ve been busy in the transfer market. Following the departure of Cesar Azpilicueta, Reece James was named as new club captain.

At Liverpool, the Reds shed a number of players including Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, Roberto Firmino and James Milner, and signed Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai. They appointed Virgil van Dijk as the successor to Henderson as the skipper and Trent Alexander-Arnold replaced Milner as the vice-captain.

It has been all change for both teams and neither side are finished. They are battling it out for Moises Caicedo and Roméo Lavia as they look to bolster their midfield options.

Away from transfers, one thing to note here, however, is that Mohamed Salah has scored in every opening-day fixture since joining Liverpool. He also has four goals against his former employers but only one of them arrived at Stamford Bridge.

(Images from IMAGO)

You can follow every match from the 2023/24 Premier League season live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage including shot maps, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Aug

2023

FIVE games to follow this weekend: Season start for the Premier League, LaLiga, and Ligue 1

In this weekend preview we summarise the best five games to follow on your match feed. And make a couple of suggestions for matches that you may otherwise miss.

By Bill Biss

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Premier League: Burnley vs. Manchester City

Here we go! The top flight of English football is back. And what a game we have to kick things off as Pep Guardiola’s treble-winners start their Premier League title defence, on Friday night, at the club promoted under the management of former City captain, Vincent Kompany.

Burnley looked transformed last season; winning the Championship at a canter, amassing over 100 points, scoring a league-high 1.9 goals per game while conceding at a rate of under one goal per game. They only lost three league fixtures, were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by eventual winners Manchester United, and then by City, the eventual winners in the FA Cup. That was a chastising experience for Kompany as he saw his side comfortably outplayed on their way to a Haaland-inspired 6-0 thrashing.

Not a lot of pundits are suggesting that this league meeting between the two will go the same way as that night back in March but it will be interesting to see how Kompany sets up his strong footballing side against perhaps the best, on last season’s form, team in the world. For what it’s worth, Burnley last beat City back in 2015, and last earned a point against them, at home, in 2018.

For an in-depth look ahead to the new Premier League season, check out our special feature – here.

🇪🇸 LaLiga: Getafe vs. Barcelona

LaLiga also gets underway on Friday night but we have to wait until Sunday for the first appearance of champions Barcelona. They visit Getafe, one of the sides who survived the six-way, final day, battle against relegation at the end of last season.

The man who oversaw that final run-in, Pepe Bordalás, remains in charge, and he’ll be hoping to emulate his achievements during his first stint at the club when he guided Getafe to their highest ever finish in LaLiga (fifth in 2019).

Since winning the title, Barcelona have, as usual, been busy going through the financial rigmarole to ensure that they could bolster their squad in the transfer market – so far, they’ve only moved on fringe players while signing İlkay Gündoğan and Spain centre-back Iñigo Martínez on free transfers, and added former academy product, Oriol Romeu to their midfield ranks.

So, minus the old heads – Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets, now reunited at Inter Miami, Xavi’s side looks fairly similar to the one that won LaLiga with relative ease. Can they do the same again, and also be more competitive in the Champions League? A positive result at Getafe, where they haven’t won since September 2019, would be a good starting point.

Elsewhere, Real Madrid kick-off their season with what is always a heated clash against Basque side Athletic Club, on Saturday night.

🇫🇷 France: PSG vs. Lorient

In Ligue 1, a new-look Paris Saint-Germain will start their title defence when they take to field against Lorient on Saturday.

You may remember that at the end of April, it was a 3-1 defeat at home to the Breton side that started to sow the seeds for Lionel Messi’s departure, and worsened the in-fighting between the board and coach Christophe Galtier. Messi was suspended after taking an unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia the day after that game, and Galtier was eventually sacked, despite securing the club their 11th league title.

Now, Luis Enrique will be in the home dugout, and he’ll be marshalling what looks like being a very different PSG side. Messi has gone, Mbappé, and possibly even Neymar are thought to be out of contention due to their respective contract disputes and possible departures. Instead, we’ll be watching out to see which of the Parisians’ eight summer signings gets a starting role – candidates include former Madrid forward, Marco Asensio, centre-back Milan Škriniar, Lucas Hernández, and possibly even on-loan Portuguese striker Gonçalo Ramos.

🇩🇪 DFB Super Cup: Bayern München vs. RB Leipzig

The season opener in Germany falls on the same weekend that the first round of this season’s DFB Pokal gets underway. And it features the same two sides as the Super Cup game played last August – Leipzig having won back-to-back Pokal titles and Bayern, well…having won the last 11 Bundesliga titles in a row.

Last season’s game was a goal-fest, won eventually by Bayern. And we wouldn’t be at all surprised if it was a similar story on Saturday night. Leipzig have been busy in the transfer market having had a number of huge cash injections follow the sale of stars Christopher Nkunku, Dominik Szoboszlai, and Joško Gvardiol so it will be interesting to see how they shape up. Marco Rose has been bolstered by the signings of highly rated forward players, Xavi Simons, Loïs Openda, and Fabio Carvalho.

Bayern’s biggest summer signing could, of course, still be about to happen but at the time of writing, it’s unclear when Harry Kane will join the German champions. In any case, it will not be in time for the season’s curtain raiser as the club look to win their fourth straight Super Cup.

🏆 Women’s World Cup: England vs. Colombia

The World Cup quarter-finals got underway, on Friday, with wins for Spain and Sweden setting up a semi-final between two European powerhouses of the women’s game. And on Saturday, we’ll find out who will face each other on the other side of the draw.

Hosts Australia come up against France, who look ominously strong, in Brisbane, and then England’s Lionesses play surprise package Colombia in Sydney.

The European Champions have not been at their fluent best at the tournament, the 6-1 win over China being the exception rather than the rule, and after Lauren James’ needless red card in the Round of 16 tie against Nigeria, England required a penalty shoot out victory to progress. James has been suspended for the next two games so we wait to see what impact that has on both Sarina Wiegman’s line-up, and her tactics for the meeting with Colombia.

The South Americans have won over a few hearts at these finals. Having failed to qualify in 2019, they ended up topping Group H thanks to wins over South Korea and Germany, the two nations who had been expected to qualify from the group. In the Round of 16, they then became the first side to score against Jamaica, another team who had lit up the tournament, beating them 1-0 thanks to a second half effort from Catalina Usme.

With all past winners of the World Cup now out of contention the trophy is well and truly up for grabs.

Plus two hidden gems from a little deeper in your match feed…

🇺🇸 Leagues Cup: Inter Miami vs. Charlotte

For those who’ve not been following the fairytale script – Inter Miami, bottom of MLS, winless in six, and with just five league wins to their name all season started the inter-MLS/Liga MX competition known as the Leagues Cup with fresh hope following the high profile signing of Lionel Messi.

Now, further boasted by the presence of Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, the club are on the verge of the semi-finals after four consecutive wins that have seen Messi net six goals, including three consecutive braces. Standing in their way are Charlotte FC, who have beaten Necaxa, Cruz Azul, and Houston Dynamo to make it this far.

🇳🇱 Eredivisie: Feyenoord vs. Fortuna Sittard

Aside from three of the top five leagues – the Premier League, LaLiga, and Ligue 1 – starting this weekend, there’s also the opening round in a number of other important European leagues. Not least the Eredivisie, where defending champions Feyenoord feature on Sunday.

Having lost the Dutch Super Cup, at home, to PSV last weekend, the champions will be looking for a more positive result against Fortuna Sittard, who finished last season down in 13th place.

Arne Slot’s side had a positive pre-season – going unbeaten over five games and beating the likes of Benfica and Club Brugge so the set back against title rivals PSV will be something they need to get beyond. And a strong start is required if they are to emulate the achievements of last season when they lost just twice en route to winning the league by seven points.

If you want to follow any of the games mentioned above, click on the relevant link and tap the bell icon to receive all the key match updates.

Or join us on Twitter, Threads, Facebook and Instagram to discuss all the important football going on this weekend!

Cover Image from IMAGO

Aug

2023

It’s go time: The 2023/24 Premier League season is here

Clubs in the English top flight have been busy in both the transfer and the managerial market. Arsenal come out on top against Manchester City in the Community Shield to claim the first piece of silverware of the new campaign and the Gunners will be hopeful that it isn’t their last.

However, if you aren’t familiar with what has gone on throughout the summer, we’ve got you covered with individual previews for each club. We’ve also predicted where each team will finish in the Premier League and we’re going to detail exactly why in this piece.

For your team’s preview, click on the link when you see the club mentioned below.

By Sam McGuire

The title challengers

The usual suspects make up this category.

Despite defeat in the Community Shield, Manchester City remain favourites for the Premier League title this term. The treble winners may have lost İlkay Gündoğan and Riyad Mahrez, while Aymeric Laporte looks set to depart the Etihad following the arrival of Joško Gvardiol, but Pep Guardiola’s men have a cheat code in Erling Haaland. The champions are also expected to strengthen their attacking options before the window closes. They had the joint-best defence in the league last term and they score a lot of goals, it is difficult to see anyone pipping them to the post.

Arsenal are best placed to do that though. Mikel Arteta has invested heavily this summer to bring in Kai Havertz, Jurrien Timber, Declan Rice and David Raya. They now have the depth they lacked last season and this might be enough to push City all the way.

Liverpool are the dark horse here. The Reds have looked defensively fragile during pre-season but they possess enough firepower to beat most teams in the Premier League. Combine that with the exploits of Alisson Becker between the sticks and you could see Jürgen Klopp’s side at the top end of the table once again, if luck is on their side.

The race for Europe

Manchester United should qualify for the Champions League again. Erik Ten Hag has added Mason Mount, André Onana and Rasmus Højlund to his squad and the expectation is a midfielder will come in once Fred and Scott McTominay are sold. The reason they might not compete for the title is that they’re currently without a reliable goalscoring centre-forward.

Chelsea are something of an unknown heading into the season but, like with Liverpool, there’s enough quality within their squad to beat most teams, especially now that Mauricio Pochettino is at the helm. Yes, a midfielder is needed to partner Enzo Fernández especially now that they’ve been outbid by Liverpool in the race to sign Moises Caicedo.

Brighton, despite having to contend with European football this season, should be in the mix again. They have strengthened their squad and retained a number of key players, as well as their manager. There’s no reason they can’t have another impressive campaign.

Spurs, under new manager Ange Postecoglou, should be in with a shot at qualifying for the Europa League. He’s been backed in the market and allowed to put his stamp on things. They might just need a reliable replacement for outgoing talisman, Harry Kane.

Aston Villa will be there or thereabouts. Unai Emery has made some shrewd signings this summer and the Villans had one of the best records in the league following his appointment. They have strengthened during the window and could be one of the surprise packages of the season.

Newcastle United may fall off a little this season after an impressive fourth-place showing last term. They’ve added to their squad but with European football to contend with, coupled with teams being much more familiar with their approach, they might struggle to hit the highs of last season. They should be battling for a European spot though.

The middle of the road

Burnley have been tipped by a few to go down but they’ve made some positive signings this summer and are a different prospect entirely under Vincent Kompany. They should be one of a handful of clubs in the mid-table mix come the end of the campaign.

Expect them to be joined by Brentford, Nottingham Forest and West Ham. The latter are yet to make any real moves in the market but reports suggest they’re close to a number of signings who should help solidify them following the sale of Rice.

Brentford are a stable club that could push higher up the table if they bring in a striker to replace the suspended Ivan Toney. Nottingham Forest haven’t been as chaotic this summer and have managed to keep hold of star names. There should be more than enough within their squad to avoid a relegation battle this season.

The strugglers

Bournemouth made the brave decision to get rid of Gary O’Neil and hire Andoni Iraola. If he’s able to immediately put his stamp on things, they might be ok but if there are teething problems, they could be in the mix again. Especially as they haven’t really done much in the transfer market this summer.

Fulham finished mid-table last season but their defensive numbers weren’t great and they definitely weren’t sustainable. With serious doubts over the future of Tosin Adarabioyo and Aleksandar Mitrović, Marco Silva’s men could struggle.

Crystal Palace have managed to keep hold of most of their star names but they did lose Zaha on a free transfer. There don’t appear to be many goals in their squad and it might be an uphill battle for them to put points on the board.

Wolves could well go down this season. They have lost a number of players and manager Julen Lopetegui left just a couple of days before their first Premier League game. They are yet to make any real moves in the market and are weaker than they were last season.

Everton improved under Sean Dyche but they haven’t made many changes to their squad yet. They are another team who looks like they might struggle for goals and that could see them involved in yet another relegation battle.

Sheffield United have sold two of their best players in Iliman Ndiaye and Sander Berge. The plan is to reinvest that money but it has hardly been ideal preparation for their return to the Premier League. Expect them to be in a relegation dogfight.

Luton have a Championship squad and they haven’t done much in the market. They are going to be relying on their team work ethic to pick up results but even that might not be enough to get enough points on the board to avoid the drop.

(Images from IMAGO)

Think you know better than our Premier League expert? Then play the FotMob Predictor Game and decide where your team will finish this season! Find the game in the More tab of the FotMob app, which you can download, for free, right here.

Aug

2023

Transfer Roundup: Hojlund, Gvardiol, Ramos and more

You can tell the top-flight football returns this weekend as there has been a real urgency in getting deals over the line this week. Here’s a bumper edition of the weekly transfer round-up series.

By Sam McGuire

Axel Disasi

Monaco to Chelsea

Fee: £39million

Chelsea rarely need an excuse to delve into the transfer market but this move was a justified one. The Blues will be without Wesley Fofana for a prolonged period and with Kalidou Koulibaly sold and Benoît Badiashile still on the mend following a long-term injury lay-off, a centre-back was needed.

They, once again, raided Monaco to reunite Badiashile with Disasi. The 25-year-old, linked with Manchester United earlier in the summer, penned a six-year deal at Stamford Bridge and is likely going to be a starter alongside Levi Colwill in the near future. He’s an aerially dominant centre-back (70% success rate in the air) who should thrive in the Premier League.

Yunus Musah

Valencia to AC Milan

Fee: £17million

The 2021/22 Serie A champions are making the Sandro Tonali money stretch. Musah has the potential to be one of the smartest signings of the summer. The highly-rated midfielder was being linked with a host of Premier League clubs but it was Milan who made a move, parting with £17million to secure the services of the energetic 20-year-old midfielder. Stefano Pioli has now revamped his squad with nine new players this summer.

Musah might not be the biggest signing but he could be the shrewdest, he won over 70% of his attempted tackles last season in LaLiga, completed 82% of his passes and completed almost half of his dribbles.

Joško Gvardiol

RB Leipzig to Manchester City

Fee: £77million

This move has been on the cards for a while. Manchester City finally agreed to RB Leipzig’s payment demands and a deal, believed to be in the region of £77million, was struck.

The 21-year-old should slot seamlessly into Pep Guardiola’s defence. He’s superb in possession and completed 89% of his passes last term. He’s also an aggressive ball carrier, completing 89% of his dribbles and he won 74% of his tackles in the Bundesliga. It is as though someone built Gvardiol in a lab specifically for that left-back inverted role used by the treble winners. His arrival should see Aymeric Laporte depart the Etihad.

Robert Sánchez

Brighton to Chelsea

Fee: £20million

Chelsea finally agreed a deal with Brighton but it wasn’t for Moises Caicedo. After parting ways with Éduoard Mendy this summer, the Blues needed a back-up keeper to Kepa and they have brought in his compatriot.

Sánchez was initially the starter for Brighton but he lost his place between the sticks following the appointment of Roberto De Zerbi with the Italian tactician favouring Jason Steele. Despite him being second choice, they have managed to bank £20million for the 25-year-old.

He could well replace Kepa as Pochettino’s starting goalkeeper as the season progresses.

Rasmus Højlund

Atalanta to Manchester United

Fee: £64million

Manchester United finally got their man. After weeks of negotiations with Atalanta, the Red Devils were able to strike a deal for Højlund. The 20-year-old found the back of the net nine times during his debut campaign in Serie A. His return was sustainable too, he had an Expected Goals haul of 9.47 having landed 64% of his efforts on target. He also chipped in with two assists having created 24 chances.

United have paid a lot of potential but the Denmark international is a player who has the potential to be one of the best in the world in his role. This is one that requires patience but it could well pay off.

Matheus França

Flamengo to Crystal Palace

Fee: £17million

Having lost Wilfried Zaha, Crystal Palace needed to bring in an attacking talent this summer who would be able to bring the same sort of excitement to fans. It was a difficult task but they may have done just that with the signing of França.

The 19-year-old is going to bring samba flair to Selhurst Park and he could have a lot of fun alongside Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise. He’s set to miss the start of the season with an injury but expect him to make an impact upon his return.

Gianluca Scamacca

West Ham United to Atalanta

Fee: £22million

West Ham don’t have the best of luck with strikers, do they? Scamacca arrived last summer having caught the eye with Sassuolo with 16 Serie A goals. However, it quickly became apparent that David Moyes wasn’t entirely sure how to get the best out of the 6ft5 Italian forward.

The 24-year-old finished the season with an average FotMob rating of 6.55 having scored three goals in his 16 appearances. He managed just 928 Premier League minutes and has now returned to his homeland to fill the void left by the departure of Højlund.

Gonçalo Ramos

Benfica to Paris Saint-Germain

Fee: Loan

It is all change at Paris Saint-Germain this summer. According to reports, Luis Enrique is looking to move on a number of high-profile players this summer as he looks to put his stamp on things. Ramos is the latest player to make the most to the French capital with PSG loaning him from Benfica for a season.

The 22-year-old scored a hat-trick for Portugal during the 2022 World Cup and finished the 2022/23 campaign with 19 goals in the league on his way to an impressive 7.51 FotMob rating. He’s been given the No. 9 jersey and is expected to play a key role for the new-look Ligue 1 champions.

Valentino Livramento

Southampton to Newcastle United

Fee: £32million

This seems like a good deal for all parties involved. Southampton receive big money for a player who spent a year out injured, Newcastle get a player who has the potential to eventually succeed Kieran Trippier as the starting right-back and Livramento is playing for a Champions League club with the opportunity to train with an England full-back on a daily basis.

The price may seem steep right now but the 20-year-old, in a year or two, has the potential and the ability to make it look like a bargain fee. This is up there with the smartest piece of business done by the Magpies this summer.

Micky Van de Ven

Wolfsburg to Tottenham Hotspur

Fee: £30million

The 22-year-old was one of the quickest players in the Bundesliga last term while turning out for Wolfsburg.

Having been linked with Liverpool earlier in the summer, the Dutch Under-21 international agreed to sign for Spurs as Ange Postecoglou’s squad really begins to take shape. The left-footed 6ft4 centre-back is composed on the ball, completing 88% of his passes last term, a decent ball carrier, completing 70% of his dribbles and he racked up close to 3,000 minutes last term. He could develop into a top tier Premier League centre-back.

Ross Barkley

Free agent to Luton Town

Fee: Free Transfer

Barkley brings some much needed Premier League experience to this Luton team. Back in England following a stint with Nice, the 29-year-old does have a point to prove having struggled to kick on after signing for Chelsea.

He didn’t do enough while on loan at Aston Villa to turn it into a permanent move and his time with Nice wasn’t as productive as he would’ve hoped, but the 33-cap England international now has an opportunity in the English top-flight once again. Barkley isn’t good enough to single-handedly keep the Hatters in the Premier League but he has the quality to be a difference maker in key moments.

Sander Berge

Sheffield United to Burnley

Fee: £12million

This is a big signing for Burnley. Both figuratively as well as literally. The 6ft5 midfielder signed from Sheffield United for just £12million. In the blink of an eye, the Clarets strengthened their squad while weakening a Premier League rival.

The centre-midfielder finished the 2022/23 campaign with an average FotMob rating of 7.28 having racked up 37 appearances as the Blades secured second place in the Championship to return to the Premier League. He chipped in with six goals and five assists while contributing in the middle third too, completing 62% of his dribbles and winning 71% of his tackles.

Edson Álvarez

Ajax to West Ham United

Fee: £33million

West Ham have finally signed their Declan Rice replacement. This deal should be viewed as quite the coup too given Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich both had an interest in the Ajax midfielder.

The 25-year-old is meticulous in possession, completing 89% of his attempted passes last term, and he’s also a disruptor in the middle third, making 36 interceptions in the Eredivisie during his final season in Amsterdam. Alvarez made 31 appearances and finished the campaign with a FotMob average of 7.70 to really highlight his dominance in that division.

Alex Scott

Bristol City to Bournemouth

Fee: £22million

Alex Scott was being chased by some of the big hitters in the Premier League but it was Bournemouth who shocked everyone by securing the highly rated youngster.

The 19-year-old impressed for Bristol City last term chipping in with four assists while playing a variety of positions. He’s injured now but expect him to have an impact on the English top-flight in the very near future.

(Images from IMAGO)

To keep track of all the latest deals, and even set alerts for transfers in your favourite leagues; head to the More tab in your app to find FotMob’s Transfer Centre. Download the free app here.

Aug

2023

Premier League Predictions: Wolverhampton Wanderers

Wolves have it all to do this season having lost key players this summer without really replacing them. Another difficult campaign could be on the cards now that manager Julen Lopetegui walked out on the eve of the 2023/24 kicking off.

By Sam McGuire

How the team did last season

In the end, a 13th-place finish wasn’t so bad. However, they were just seven points outside of the relegation zone and finished with nine fewer points than the previous campaign (50).

Under Bruno Lage, Wolves got off to a horrific start. They won just three of their opening 18 matches and lost on 10 occasions. Lage was sacked and Steve Davies stepped in as caretaker manager for over a month until the appointment of Lopetegui.

Their form in the second half of the campaign was enough to beat the drop. They beat the likes of Liverpool, Spurs, Aston Villa, Brentford and Chelsea. The key month though was April as they picked up 10 points from a possible 18. It was this run that essentially guaranteed their survival.

Across the board, it was a disappointing season for practically all of the players. Sasa Kalajdzic was signed to lead the line and he picked up an ACL on his debut that ended his season in September. In his absence, Wolves struggled for goals and found the back of the net on just 31 occasions – the lowest of any team in the Premier League. Daniel Podence and Rúben Neves finished as the joint-top scorers with six. Raúl Jiménez and Diego Costa struggled to get on the scoresheet.

Neves was the standout performer in what turned out to be his final season with the club. He claimed the highest average of the season on FotMob (7.34), was one of only three players to create over 30 chances and finished with the highest Expected Assists total (5.2).

What has happened during the summer?

We’ll start with outgoings.

Neves finally left the club. The midfield maestro was linked with Barcelona but made a surprising move to Al-Hilal. He was into the final 12 months of his deal at Molineux and Wolves did manage to pocket a hefty £47million for their captain. All things considered, it was good business. Though he does need to be replaced.

Nathan Collins also departed. Brentford paid a club record fee (£23million) to bring the centre-back to the club just 12 months after Wolves signed him from Burnley for a reported £20million.

The 22-year-old made 26 appearances for Wolves last season and was part of the first-team picture. As of yet, no replacement has been signed for him.

Raúl Jiménez left to join Fulham and former club captain Conor Coady returned from his loan spell with Everton to be sold to Leicester City.

Wolves haven’t done much in the transfer market yet to combat these departures. Boubacar Traoré arrived from Metz. He’s a defensive midfielder and could fill the void, positionally, left by Neves. He doesn’t exactly share a playing profile with the Portuguese playmaker though.

Matt Doherty returned to the club after a brief stint with Atlético Madrid.

Then, with the Premier League season just a couple of days away, Lopetegui parted ways with the club. According to reports, the former Spain boss felt let down by the owners in the market this summer. Gary O’Neil, formerly of Bournemouth, is expected to replace him.

What they should be aiming for next season?

This is another team who struggled last season and have now weakened their side while their manager isn’t at the previous level. Kalajdzic is an unknown in the league but there’s a huge overreliance on him to deliver. If he fails or struggles, where are the goals going to come from? Without goals, it is a case of keeping clean sheets and Wolves weren’t necessarily good at that last season, conceding 58 goals in their 38 matches.

It isn’t Kalajdzic or bust but this team won’t be far off that.

Prediction

17th.

(Images from IMAGO)

Aug

2023

Premier League Predictions: West Ham United

It was a season of two halves for West Ham United last term. This time around, they are going to want a little more consistency. They will need it if they are going to avoid a relegation scrap.

By Sam McGuire