Wolves vs. The Bees: Duel between the worst teams, is Molineux a turning point?

Gilabola.com – Wolverhampton Wanderers will host Brentford at the Molineux Stadium on Saturday afternoon under pressure. Wolves are still the only club in the top seven tiers of English football that have not won a single win this season, a situation that has left them slumped at the bottom of the Premier League standings.

Meanwhile, Brentford are not in the best performance, but their condition is still much more stable than the hosts. With Wolves trapped in a long negative record, this match has the potential to be a golden opportunity for The Bees to steal three points, especially considering Wolves’ weak performance at home.

Wolves’ poor record is increasingly worrying

Not long after the club owner publicly admitted the mistake of their summer transfer strategy, Rob Edwards’ team swallowed another bitter pill last weekend when they visited Arsenal headquarters. Wolves had hoped to steal a valuable point when Tolu Arokodare’s header in the 90th minute equalized the score after Sam Johnstone’s own goal.

However, those hopes collapsed in injury time when Yerson Mosquera accidentally turned the ball into his own net. This defeat made Wolves even worse, stuck at the bottom of the standings and are now 14 points behind the safe zone.

Worse still, Wolves have gone 20 Premier League games without a win (3 draws, 17 losses). In league history, there have only been four longer streaks, and only one of them did not result in relegation—Derby County’s 32-game winless streak in the 2007/08 season.

Since drawing 1-1 against Brighton on October 5, Wolves have lost nine league matches in a row. This is the longest series of defeats in the club’s history at league level. If they lose again this weekend, Wolves will join the rare list of teams that have suffered 10 consecutive defeats in one Premier League season.

Ironically, playing at Molineux is no longer an advantage. Wolves have gone 10 home games without a win (2 draws, 8 defeats), their worst record since the 2011–2012 period. They also won only once from four home meetings against Brentford in the Premier League.

Brentford Still Inconsistent, But More Stable

Brentford has not appeared convincing in recent weeks. From the last six matches in all competitions, they only won one win. In the middle of last week, their progress in the English League Cup stopped in the quarter-finals after losing 0-2 to Manchester City.

Coach Keith Andrews regretted the referee’s decision to only give Abdukodir Khusanov a yellow card in a crucial situation when the score was still 0-0. Without VAR, Brentford finally conceded Rayan Cherki’s beautiful goal before Savinho ensured City’s victory in the second half.

Now, Brentford’s focus is completely focused on the Premier League. Being in 15th position in the standings, they must immediately move away from the shadow of relegation. Last week’s 1-1 draw against Leeds added to the negative notes, with Brentford having dropped 13 points from a leading position—the most in the league this season.

Another problem is the away performance. Brentford have lost seven of their eight away league games this season, including four straight defeats dating back to last season. Only Wolves have recorded more away defeats in the Premier League.

Team News and Player Conditions

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Wolves are still hit by a storm of injuries. Rodrigo Gomes, Marshall Munetsi, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, Leon Chiwome and Daniel Bentley are confirmed to be absent. Mosquera also had to serve a one-match suspension due to accumulated yellow cards.

Santiago Bueno and Ladislav Krejci are the main candidates to replace Mosquera in the back line. Krejci also has the opportunity to be installed in midfield with Joao Gomes and Andre.

On the front line, Tolu Arokodare—Wolves’ top scorer this season with three goals—has the opportunity to start again after scoring the equalizer against Arsenal. He will compete with Jorgen Strand Larsen to accompany Hwang Hee-chan.

Brentford

Brentford lost Josh Dasilva, Antoni Milambo, Fabio Carvalho and Reiss Nelson due to injury. Dango Ouattara and Frank Onyeka are also absent due to playing for their countries at the Africa Cup of Nations.

The good news is that Igor Thiago (11 Premier League goals this season) and Jordan Henderson have the opportunity to return after missing the cup match. Andrews said both were “close to ready”, with the final decision taken ahead of the match.

Estimated Lineup

Wolverhampton Wanderers (3-4-1-2): Johnstone; S. Bueno, Agbadou, Toti; Doherty, Gomes, Krejci, Andre, Wolfe; Arokodare, Hwang

Brentford (4-2-3-1): Kelleher; Kayode, Collins, Van den Berg, Hickey; Henderson, Yarmoliuk; Schade, Damsgaard, Lewis-Potter; Thiago

Wolves vs Brentford Score Prediction

Our prediction: Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-3 Brentford

On paper, Wolves will consider this match as the best opportunity to break their winless streak. However, the mental pressure, the absence of many key players, and the weakness of the defense made this task feel very difficult.

Brentford may not be perfect this season, but the quality of their squad is still enough to exploit the hosts’ weaknesses. The presence of Thiago and Henderson again—if fit—could be the main difference.

Wolves are currently not only experiencing a results crisis, but also a crisis of confidence. Too often they appear competitive, but always fail at crucial moments. This situation signals unresolved mental and structural issues with the team, regardless of who the opponent is.

On the other hand, Brentford may not be a fearsome team away from home, but facing Wolves in these conditions is too valuable an opportunity to waste. If they play disciplined and clinical, three points from Molineux feels very realistic.