Wolves Premier League 2023/24 season preview

bet365 News Team Updated: 21 Sep 23 13:02 Published: 27 Jul 23 16:07

After registering their lowest points haul and goals tally since returning to the Premier League in 2018/19, Wolves' fans will be hoping for more excitement under new manager Gary O'Neil in the coming campaign.

Stadium: Molineux
Manager: Gary O'Neil
Captain: TBC
Top league scorer last season: Ruben Neves, Daniel Podence - 6
Last season's position: 13th

Wolves Odds

To Finish in Top 6 - 20/1
To Finish in Top Half - 7/2
To Finish in Bottom Half - 1/5
Not to be Relegated - 2/11
To be Relegated - 7/2
To Finish Bottom - 12/1

Wolves 2022/23 performance

It shouldn't be the only statistic that matters, but last season Wolves created just 41 big chances, which are classified by Opta as opportunities that a team should reasonably expect to take.

It was the lowest number in the division by some distance.

When you sift through the campaign as a whole, the one recurring theme is the lack of excitement, the lack of thrills and spills, the lack of big chances. They scored 31 goals - no other team scored fewer. It just wasn't a very pretty season at Molineux.

In fairness, it could have gone a lot worse. They were bottom at Christmas - albeit having played only 14 games because of the World Cup interruption - and we know how seasons tend to finish for clubs propping up the table at the end of the calendar year.

Bruno Lage, the man who had overseen Wolves' awful start, made it to the first week of October before the axe fell. In came former Real Madrid, Spain and Sevilla head coach Julen Lopetegui, who eventually guided the team to safety with relative comfort in 13th place.

It may not have been fun, but at least under Lopetegui Wolves were able to retain their Premier League status and regroup this summer.

Wolves 2023/24 prospects

All the Premier League prices seem to hint at another season of struggle at Molineux, and it's easy to understand why.

Wolves have offloaded old hands like Conor Coady, Ruben Neves, Joao Moutinho, Diego Costa and Raul Jimenez, whilst there are still significant question marks concerning several of the players still at the club, including Matheus Nunes, Sasa Kalajdzic and Fabio Silva.

Lopetegui made no secret of his frustrations regarding his ability to bring in the players players he desired to Molineux in order to stamp his own identity on the squad, and his decision to depart the club this summer seems a massive blow for the club.

Gary O'Neil is the man charged with leading Wolves this season after his impressive work at Bournemouth last term, and he has some job on his hands to ensure his new club are kept clear of relegation danger this year.

Many supporters believe a new keeper is required, and surely Wolves will need some added firepower up front or at least an injection of creativity to help the likes of Cunha or Kalajdzic build confidence in front of goal.

With key players having departed and Wolves moving slow to replace them in the transfer market, it is currently hard to have much cause to believe O'Neil's side can finish higher then their 13th-placed finish last term.

Wolves manager – Gary O'Neil

The Wolves board moved swiftly to replace the outgoing Lopetegui with Gary O'Neil as the club's new manager, perhaps in an indication that the team could be up against it in the new Premier League campaign.

Initially taking over as Bournemouth's interim manager last season following Scott Parker's exit in August, O'Neil was eventually appointed on a permanent basis in November after helping steer the Cherries away from the drop zone.

Considering Bournemouth were widely tipped to go straight back down to the Championship following promotion, with a squad which appeared to lack top level experience, the job O'Neil was able to do to deliver a 15th-placed finish was widely heralded.

The 40-year-old has been trusted to have a similar impact at an equally unfancied Wolves side ahead of the upcoming season, with a large cloud of pessimism seemingly hanging over Molineux at present following a tumultuous summer.

Wolves key player – Matheus Nunes

It is safe to say Wolves have yet to see the best of a lot of their big-name, big-money signings, among them Portugal international Matheus Nunes.

Signed for a club record £42m from Sporting Lisbon last summer, much was expected of the versatile midfielder.

As was the case with so many of Wolves' recruits, all fans got was flashes of what Nunes could do, moments of sparkle but not enough end product.

Now, with so many senior pros out of the club and a good pre-season under his belt, O'Neil and Wolves supporters will be keen to see Matheus Nunes grab the Premier League by the scruff of its neck and become the team's main man in the new campaign

Wolves One to Watch – Hugo Bueno

For a club that has liked to splash the cash in vast amounts, young Hugo Bueno shows what the benefits of a thriving academy look like.

Arriving at the club in 2019, Bueno has been able to play his way through the age groups before being granted his big chance in the first team over the course of last season, starting 16 times at left-back.

The 20-year-old Spaniard looks primed to retain his place as Lopetegui's first-choice at left-back ahead of the upcoming campaign, and will be striving to increase his influence upon the Wolves side and build his reputation as a Premier League player.