Wolves travel to Liverpool this weekend for the final match of their Premier League campaign.
Gary O’Neil will be desperate for the season to end after watching his side record one win in their last nine matches.
A 3-1 defeat against Crystal Palace on Saturday saw the Old Gold drop down to 13th, although if they do somehow beat Liverpool at Anfield, there is an outside chance of them finishing inside the top 10, which would be a remarkable achievement.
Wolves were written off from the first kick and most people predicted them to go down in August. Fast forward eight months and O’Neil’s men are 20 points above the relegation zone, so regardless of where they finish, it’s been a productive campaign at Molineux.
The Wanderers now face the small task of taking points from Liverpool to upset the party in Jurgen Klopp’s final game in charge. That should give them added motivation to record their first league win at Anfield since 2010.
Wolves team news ahead of Liverpool
Injuries ultimately derailed Wolves’ chances of finishing in Europe and arguably the biggest one was the injury to Pedro Neto.
O’Neil did deliver some positive news on the Portuguese superstar, claiming he ‘feels good’ and will be in the squad to face Liverpool.
While Neto is in line to return to the squad, the Wolves boss confirmed that Pablo Sarabia is a doubt after picking up a slight knock, which should rule him out till pre-season.
Another huge miss has been Craig Dawson and following surgery, the veteran defender will be using pre-season to recover and work his way back to full fitness.
Wolves predicted XI vs Liverpool
Jose Sa has been very important for Wolves in recent weeks and is in line to make his 35th top-flight appearance of the campaign.
As for the back three, Santiago Bueno has deputized for Dawson alongside Max Kilman and Toti Gomes. That doesn’t look like changing here.
Nelson Semedo was named the Players Player of the Season and he’ll look to exploit the space left behind by Andy Robertson down the left.
Rayan Ait-Nouri has flourished in an attacking position, but with key personnel returning, he’s returned to his role as a left wing-back.
In midfield, O’Neil may consider dropping £10m man Boubacar Traore, who was poor against Crystal Palace, replacing him with the “quality” Tommy Doyle. The Englishman will partner Joao Gomes and Mario Lemina in the engine room.
The attack speaks for itself with Hwang Hee-Chan partnering Matheus Cunha up front. It’s unlikely O’Neil will risk Neto on the final game, especially with the transfer window approaching, so he may just make a cameo.