Wolverhampton Wanderers FC
Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton & Hove Albion
Mid table Wolves take on improved Brighton side with both teams safe from relegation battle
Brighton to win 1-0
Over the past month or so, both Wolves and Brighton have taken solid steps towards securing their place in the Premier League next season.
Wolves have only scored 33 goals in 34 games this season, and have struggled immensely without Raul Jimenez for most of it, but have shored up their defence to some extent and have picked up seven points from the last five games.
A top half finish is seven points away – not unachievable but unlikely unless they can find some consistent form over the remaining four games.
Brighton secured a huge win last weekend against Leeds, three much-needed points moving them 10 ahead of 18th place Fulham.
They too have been poor this season, and far too often have missed good opportunities to pick up wins only to be pegged back late on in games.
For both teams, next season has more promise, but this could be a good opportunity for them to shake off the shackles.
Form Guide (all comps): LWWLD
Reasons to be cheerful:
Have looked like the Wolves of old in the last month or so
Secured their fourth consecutive season in the Premier League
Reasons to be fearful:
Haven’t beaten Brighton in the Premier League after 11 attempts
Lost three of their last four home games
One or two rumours circulated the media this week suggesting that Raul Jimenez could be fit to play a role in this game, having missed six months of football after fracturing his skull.
In truth, he may only be back for the final game of the season in a few weeks’ time, though Wolves have coped a little better without their star striker in recent weeks.
They’ve won two of their last five in the league, after winning none of their previous five, and have pushed a little closer to the top half of the league. The Wanderers are 10 points worse off than they were at this stage last season, though a 12th place finish would be respectable based on their form a few months ago.
With little to play for however, can they beat Wolves for the first time in the Premier League?
Star Man – Adama Traore
Has the pace and power to get in behind Brighton’s defence here.
Form Guide (all comps): LDDLW
Reasons to be cheerful:
Strong record against Wolves
Need one more win to secure a fifth consecutive season in the Premier League
Reasons to be fearful:
Have only won consecutive games twice this season
Adam Lallana will miss out here through injury
Brighton impressed many with their performance last weekend, putting two goals and a clean sheet past a strong Leeds side, showing just how desperately they wanted to remain in the top division.
With that victory, they have almost certainly guaranteed that. Officially, they require another win, although it doesn’t seem likely that Fulham in 18th place will win too many of their own.
These two teams played out a terrific 3-3 draw earlier in the season, but Brighton have improved since then, claiming six of their eight wins this season in the four months that have passed.
Graham Potter is likely to pick the same team who won that game and will be confident of securing back-to-back victories for the third time this season.
Star Man – Danny Welbeck
Showed that class is permanent last weekend with a wonderful goal to secure victory for his side. He’s a player who thrives on confidence and could continue that here.
Both sides can be difficult to play against
Wolves are in better form overall but Brighton won their last game
One goal to separate them
With survival no longer the top priority for these clubs, how much motivation will there be here?
Inconsistency has been the overall word to describe their respective seasons, so predicting how this will finish is hard, but when pressed, the team who won their last game should come into this in good form.
Brighton to win 1-0
