Wolves head to Anfield on Sunday and are looking to finish the 2023/24 season with a flourish, and spoiling Jurgen Klopp’s farewell party in the process.
It has been a tough past couple of months for Wolves and result have been poor. It is just one win in the last nine Premier League games.
Gary O’Neil has done a great job, but there is a danger of the shine just being taken off a little bit.
There are several reasons for the recent struggles though. The biggest one is the injuries to key players, and the impact that has had.
Wolves have had game-changers on the sidelines, and O’Neil has had to put square pegs in round holes at times. Some players in the squad have played a huge amount of football this season and fatigue has definitely set in.
One player who’s not seen a great deal of football during this tough period is Jean-Ricner Bellegarde – who will hopefully be starting this Sunday…
Jean-Ricner Bellegarde shone for Wolves against Liverpool on his debut back in September
Bellegarde has recently returned to action for Wolves, after missing seven Premier League games from the end of March to early May. He also missed the FA Cup game with Coventry City.
He was not deemed as big a miss as the likes of Matheus Cunha, Hwang Hee-chan or Pedro Neto.
But the Frenchman’s absence was still felt to a degree. He certainly would have been very useful to have in the absence of the others.
O’Neil ought to consider starting Bellegarde against Liverpool on Sunday, as he produced a wonderful performance for Wolves back in the reverse fixture.
The club had just completed a £13 million transfer deal to sign Bellegarde from Strasbourg, and he made his debut not long after signing.
He was thrown straight into the starting XI by Gary O’Neil against Liverpool at Molineux. And fans will remember Bellegarde really shining.
The E&S gave the star a 7/10 rating, and said of him: “Although he was quieter in the second half before he came off, Bellegarde was excellent on his debut and looked dangerous every time he touched the ball.”
Wolves did go on to lose that game 3-1, but potentially, Bellegarde may be worth fielding from the start again at Anfield, having previously had success.
Bellegarde needs a chance
Realistically there is not a lot riding on this game for Wolves.
It is still possible for the club to finish 10th. But a win for Brighton against Chelsea tomorrow night would end those faint hopes.
O’Neil will want to finish the season strongly, but it’s also a game where he can get a look at some players who haven’t played as much as others.
Bellegarde – who recently admitted the pace of the Premier League is just a different level – has played 45 minutes in each of the last two games since coming back from injury, coming off the bench at half-time on both occasions against Manchester City and Crystal Palace.
He deserves a chance to face an opponent he’s previously fared well against. It has been a bit of an underwhelming first season for him at Molineux, so it would be good for him to finish with a good performance.