2023-24 was always going to be a season of transition for Wolves. The departures of manager Julen Lopetegui and charismatic club captain Rúben Neves last summer would have left fans nervously pondering what the upcoming campaign would have in store.
Following four defeats in their first five Premier League games under Gary O’Neil, a potential relegation battle was looking likely. However, fast forward four months and Wolves find themselves mid table, playing some of the most attractive football in the division, with results backing up their performances.
In fact, only Manchester City (16) have won more points across their last six Premier League games than Wolves (13), with their only blemish during this period coming courtesy of a 97th minute winner from Manchester United youngster Kobbie Mainoo.
O’NEIL’S IMPACT
Gary O’Neil has implemented an attacking style of football that has got Wolves firing again – a throwback to the early Nuno Espírito Santo days – claiming the scalps of some of the league’s biggest hitters.
Their 4-1 win at Stamford Bridge on Sunday was the fourth time they’ve scored more than two goals in a Premier League game this season, something they managed only once across the entirety of 2022-23. And the attacking improvements don’t stop there….
Wolves were the lowest scorers in the top-flight last term (31 goals), posting the lowest Expected Goals total (37.6) and shot conversion rate (7.5%). Their games produced a total of just 89 goals (31F & 58A), with only Chelsea’s games seeing fewer (85).
By contrast, this season, they have exceeded their xG total by almost five goals (37 goals from 32.5 xG), with only three sides posting a higher conversion rate (13.8%). They could arguably be labelled ‘the entertainers’ having failed to score in just three of their 23 Premier League matches so far (compared to 15 times last season), while also conceding in 19 of them.
A key feature of Wolves’ play has been their speed in transition. Averaging just 46% possession, when winning the ball back in their own half they’ve managed 27 attempts from fast breaks (2 goals), the most in the division.
Which leads me onto one of the most exciting attacking trios in the Premier League this season.
CUNHA, HWANG & NETO – THE NUMBERS
Wolves have been able to name all three of Pedro Neto, Matheus Cunha and Hwang Hee-Chan in their starting XI for just seven of their 23 Premier League games this season. Injuries and international commitments have impacted the trios game time, however individually they have each continued with their impressive seasons.
Both Matheus Cunha (40.5%) and Hwang Hee-Chan (35.1%) rank in the top 10 for player % involvement in a team’s Premier League goals this season, while one more goal for Cunha would see Wolves have two players reach double figures for goals in a single top-flight campaign for the first time since 1979-80 (John Richards and Andy Gray).
Cunha has been involved in seven goals in his last five Premier League games for Wolves (4 goals, 3 assists), filling the burden left by Hwang’s participation at this year’s Asia Cup. Last time out, the Brazilian became just the fourth visiting player to score a Premier League hat-trick against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, after Kanu for Arsenal in 1999, Robin van Persie for Arsenal in 2011, and Sergio Agüero for Man City in 2016.
Now onto one of the sharpest shooters in the division. Hwang Hee-Chan has scored 10 goals from just 13 shots on target in the Premier League this season, with only one of those attempts coming from the penalty spot. The South Korean has scored a little over four goals more than expected based on his xG total (5.96), with only Son Heung-Min (4.9) and Diogo Jota (4.4) having a higher positive differential between xG and actual goals in 2023-24.
Despite missing nine of Wolves’ 23 Premier League games this season, only Ollie Watkins (10) and Kieran Trippier (9) have provided more assists than Pedro Neto this season (8), setting up both Cunha and Hwang three times each. With the summer EURO’s on the horizon and a potential big summer move in the pipeline, the Portuguese will hope to continue his fine form and stay injury free in the second half of the campaign.
The job Gary O’Neil is doing at Wolves cannot be underestimated, turning one of the divisions most profligate attacks in front of goal into a team that can cause serious problems to some of the most expensively assembled defences in the league (just ask Pep and Poch).
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