Former Norwich City striker Chris Sutton has issued his score prediction as Wolves host Arsenal in the Premier League on Saturday night.
Wolves are looking to build on their 2-2 draw against Nottingham Forest last weekend.
Gary O’Neil‘s men were able to salvage a point thanks to a Matheus Cunha brace. Although the Wanderers boss has now confirmed the Brazilian will miss tomorrow’s clash, along with Pedro Neto, Craig Dawson, Nelson Semedo and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde.
Losing Cunha again is such a huge blow, but it’s been the story of their campaign recently as injuries have seriously taken their toll on O’Neil’s squad.
The Old Gold have dropped out of European contention following four matches without a win and were robbed of an FA Cup semi-final appearance this weekend after losing to Coventry City in the quarters.
Despite all the doom and gloom surrounding Molineux at the moment, they do boast the best record of any side in the Premier League against the ‘big six’, which will given them with confidence ahead of Arsenal’s visit.
Chris Sutton predicts Wolves vs Arsenal
O’Neil has tactically outclassed Manchester City, Tottenham and Chelsea on home turf this term and now play Arsenal at the perfect time.
Mikel Arteta’s men are down in the dumps following their 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa and suffering a loss at the hands of Bayern Munich, knocking them out of the Champions League.
Having handed the initiative over to Man City in the Premier League title race, the Gunners will be desperate to bounce back by beating Wolves.
Former Blackburn Rovers striker Chris Sutton anticipates a tight contest in Wolverhampton but backs Arteta’s troops to secure a narrow victory.
He wrote (via BBC Sport): “I’m still probably basing this prediction more on Wolves’ form than on Arsenal’s but I do think the Gunners will find a way to win at Molineux.
“I hope they do too, because I don’t want Manchester City to have it all their own way in the run-in.”
Sutton’s prediction: 0-1
Nelson Semedo and Matheus Cunha are ruled out v Arsenal
O’Neil must be sick to death of his squad’s injury troubles, withdrawing Semedo in the 88th minute against Forest while Cunha damaged a calf muscle.
Semedo’s energy and dynamism down the right flank would have been useful to exploit Arsenal left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko in behind, whereas Cunha could have used his pace and skill to cause William Saliba and Gabrel Magalhaes problems.
The fact they’re both ruled out, though, just decreases their chances of winning massively, as while the Gunners are off form, they’re still a world-class team and Wolves needed as many fit players as possible to secure a result.
Unfortunately, that isn’t the case, with O’Neil forced into fielding a patched-up starting XI, perhaps consisting of 19-year-old Nathan Fraser.
Wolves beating Arsenal isn’t beyond the realm of possibility, but considering they’re missing so many key first-team players, recording a positive result against the title challengers could prove a step too far.
