Four games into the new season, Wolves are hovering three places above the relegation zone with one win and three defeats.
The Black County outfit were unfortunate to walk away from Old Trafford empty-handed following a controversial 1-0 defeat to Manchester United in their season opener. They were trounced by Brighton 4-1 at home before Gary O’Neil’s side responded with a 1-0 away win against Everton.
What followed was a high-octane 3-2 defeat to Crystal Palace, leaving Gary O’Neil with a lot of work to do. The international break offers O’Neil and his coaching staff time to reflect on Wolves’ positives and work on their deficiencies. With that being said, here are three issues he must address to bounce back against Liverpool at Molineux on Saturday.
- Team selection
After winning 1-0 at Everton with a 4-4-1-1 formation, O’Neil opted to make a change that saw Pablo Sarabia being preferred over Hwang Hee-chan out wide against Crystal Palace.
Sarabia didn’t offer much going forward for Wolves and was substituted for Hwang in the 60th minute. And five minutes later, Hwang scored the equaliser by meeting Pedro Neto’s free-kick. In another instance, the Japanese came off the bench and scored a consolation for Wolves in their 4-1 defeat to Brighton last month.
O’Neil has to start with players who have a better record and are more consistent. Any mistake in the starting line up could cost Wolves severely, as they are set to face Liverpool and Man City after the international break.
- Get Sasa Kalajdzic scoring again
Sasa Kalajdzic has had an unfortunate time since moving to England. He signed for Wolves for £15m last summer from Bundesliga side Stuttgart but suffered an unfortunate anterior cruciate ligament injury in his first game for the club, ruling him out for the whole season. The Austrian could only manage 45 minutes for the entirety of 2022/23 campaign.
Now slowly gaining full speed and fitness, Kalajdzic has been used as a substitute in the three appearances he has made this season. And against Everton, he came off the bench to score the winner late in the game.
Kalajdzic, understandably, could be struggling with match fitness after a year on the sidelines, but there’s no doubt he has proved in the past that he’s more than just a target man. With his physicality, aerial prowess and ability to finish off chances calmly in the box, the Austria international can become Wolves’ biggest asset.
There’s no doubting how good he is as a target man, and if O’Neil can somehow get Kalajdzic back to full fitness and scoring consistently, Wolves’ chances of staying up this season will improve significantly.
- Raise the team spirit
Players like Max Kilman, Pablo Sarabia and Fabio Silva have not been at their best so far this season and their intensity seems to have dropped.
On loan with Anderlecht and PSV Eindhoven last season, Fabio Silva scored 16 goals combined for the two clubs. Back to Wolves, he is yet to break his duck this season. Kilman’s performances in defence were the rare bright spot for Wolves last season, and after replacing Ruben Neves as the club’s skipper at the start of this term, he is yet to showcase his talent.
Following the start Wolves have enjoyed, the players’ morale and confidence will reasonably be down. So, it is crucial for O’Neil to keep motivating his players and raise their spirits, and if he takes the right steps, Wolves would be capable of turning things around.
