Believe it or not, Wolves are favorites for beating Everton on Saturday afternoon. They just came back to the Premier League and are already considered a respectable team, which can easily finish in the middle of the table, or perhaps even higher. But, they need to prove that those expectations are justified by doing well against the Toffees at the Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton.
Wolverhampton
Since the Chinese conglomerate Fosun International bought Wolves, this team has been on the road to success. They stormed their way to the Premier League last season, winning the Championship quite easily. In fact, they had 9 points more than the second-placed team when the 46-games-long Championship season finished.
The reasons behind the success of Wolves are numerous, starting with the fact that they hired a very talented coach last season. I’m talking about Nuno Espirito Santo, who had previously managed big-name teams like Porto and Valencia. The manager brought a couple of players with him from his native Portugal, including midfielder Ruber Neves, whose transfer fee was the record-breaker in the Championship.
And once this team got promoted, they continued bringing top-class Portuguese players. The first-choice goalie of the Portugal national team, Rui Patricio, joined the club this summer on a free transfer. Joao Moutinho came from Monaco, same as Ruben Vinagre, while Diego Jota was singed from Atletico Madrid. Apart from signing Portuguese players, Wolves also brought the French defender Willy Boly and Mexican attacker, Raul Jimenez.
You see now that the fact that Wolverhampton are favorites against Everton is pretty much justified. But, this is the Premier League, where anyone can beat anyone. So, let’s see what Everton have to say about all this!
Everton
After a pretty disastrous start of the previous season, Everton did manage to end on a respectable position. They finished 8th, something that they’d probably be okay with if it happened this season as well. And looking at their squad, they do seem capable of achieving that. Toffees seem to be strong in literally every positon on the pitch.
This summer, they spent a total of 66 million Euro on transfers. The biggest chunk of that money went for the transfer of Brazilian forward Richarlison, for whose signing they had to pay 45M to Watford. Everton also singed Lucas Digne from Barcelona, thus making their defense super tough to break. They now have some seriously good players at the back, starting with England’s number 1 goalie, Jordan Pickford.
They’re also very strong in the midfield, where their key player is Iceland’s playmaker Sigurdsson. They also have some very talented players on the wings; Bolasie is on the left, while the former Arsenal favorite, Theo Walcott covers the right side of the pitch. And now with Richarlison in the attack, they seem capable of outsmarting any team’s defense.
Team News
Wolverhampton
- Everyone’s fit
Everton
- James McCarthy (injury)
- Dominic Calvert-Lewin (injury)
Possible Lineups
Wolverhampton
Rui Patricio – Boly, Batth, Doherty, Coady – Neves, Moutihno, Saiss, Diogo Jota – Cavaleiro, Bonatini
Everton
Pickford – Keane, Jagielka, Coleman, Digne – Gueye, Sigurdsson, Schneiderlin – Walcott, Bolasie, Richarlison
Wolverhampton vs Everton Match Prediction
Both sides have some really fantastic players in the team, so their clash is guaranteed to be an entertaining one. Bookies think the Premier League newcomers will triumph, but I don’t think Everton will lose the game. Actually, a draw seems pretty plausible to me. And I don’t think we’ll see too many goals in this match as both teams are superb at the back.
Wolverhampton vs Everton Betting Tips
- Draw @3.30 (bet365)
- Half Time Draw @2.04 (bet365)
- HT/FT Draw/Draw @4.75 (Unibet)