The experts predict Wolverhampton Wanderers to win their Premier League match against the fierce Tottenham Hotspur team, but they can’t decide if that result will be one point or three.
On Saturday, Wolves and Spurs will play at Molineux at 12.30 p.m. TNT Sports is providing a live feed of the game.
Under new manager Ange Postecoglou, Tottenham had set the early pace this season. However, on Monday night, they suffered an incredible 4-1 home loss to Chelsea, ending the game with nine men and ending their unbeaten streak. They trail leaders Manchester City by just one point, though, and are still in second place in the standings.
With 12 points from their first 11 games, Wolves, on the other hand, sit in 14th place, six points above the relegation zone. The team’s four-match winning streak came to an end last time out as they lost 2-1 at struggling Sheffield United, leaving Gary O’Neil once again blaming VAR.
Spurs have Destiny Udogie and Cristian Romero suspended against Wolves after their red cards in the Chelsea defeat. Elsewhere, Micky van de Ven (hamstring) and James Maddison (ankle) suffered serious injuries that will rule them out until January, while it has been revealed that Richarlison has had to undergo groin surgery.
This could affect proceedings at Molineux, and former Aston Villa and Arsenal winger Paul Merson is backing Wolves to beat Spurs 2-1. He told Sportskeeda: “This one is a very interesting game. I’ll be shocked if Tottenham, with their injuries and suspensions, beat Wolves on Saturday. I was looking at Spurs’ situation, and they have some bad injuries.
“Micky van de Ven is out, and they’ve got Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie, who are set to miss a couple of weeks due to suspension. James Maddison is going to be out too, and Richarlison is set to undergo surgery. Ange Postecoglou will be fielding a makeshift backline, and they are not going to be the same side that got off to a flying start to the season due to their injuries.”
Chris Sutton reckons Wolves and Tottenham will play out a 1-1 draw. The former Villa and Birmingham City striker told BBC Sport: “It was incredible to watch what Ange Postecoglou tried to do by keeping such a high line when Tottenham went down to nine men against Chelsea.
“I was a fan of his at Celtic, and I know he likes to do things differently, but I’d never seen anything like that in my lifetime, and I loved it. They lost 4-1 in the end, but had chances at 2-1 and came so close to getting a draw.
“Spurs are depleted now with injuries to James Maddison and Micky van de Ven, and Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie are suspended, so it’s going to be a patched-up Tottenham side at Molineux. Postecoglou is not going to change the way he plays, but of course all of those absences will have an impact.
“Wolves were very unlucky to lose to a late Sheffield United penalty last week—it looked like a dive to me—and they have been much improved in recent weeks. On that basis, I’m going for a draw.”
Mark Lawrenson is also going for a 1-1 draw. The former Liverpool defender told Paddy Power: “Tottenham fell from their perch on Monday night, but Ange Postecoglou’s got even more fans now, if that were possible! They had two sent off, and two big players went off injured.
“Wolves are bound to be involved in another VAR controversy. I’ll go for a draw here. Tottenham will still be difficult to beat, but Wolves are still struggling to score.”
Like Merson, former Blues midfielder Robbie Savage reckons Wolves will win 2-1. He told TEAMtalk: “Tottenham picked up injuries to key players in that defeat to Chelsea. The high line they were playing was remarkable. Eventually, Chelsea brought them down.
“Wolves have won two of their last three games against Spurs, so I’m going to make this three from four purely down to Tottenham’s injuries.”
