Although Gary O’Neil will have a difficult afternoon against Manchester City at Molineux, the Englishman might give the Blues some difficulty.
The toughest test of them all awaits Wolverhampton Wanderers this afternoon when Gary O’Neil’s team unwillingly welcomes triple champions Manchester City to Molineux.
The Old Gold has had a bad week after embarrassingly exiting the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night, when Championship team Ipswich Town rallied from a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2 and advance to the next round.
The Midlands team has struggled mightily in the league, picking up just one victory from their first six games, drawing most recently to newly promoted Luton Town, who picked up their first point of the season against Wolves.
Speaking after the loss, O’Neil acknowledged that his team is “£80m short” of players as a result of the summer departures, underscoring exactly how much of a financial bind the Old Gold have found themselves in.
Wolves must for now concentrate on avoiding embarrassing Pep Guardiola’s team, which they might do if the manager chooses the proper team this afternoon.
Why isn’t Wolves starting Fabio Silva?
Fabio Silva, who has shown flashes of his talent despite falling down the pecking order in the early part of the season, is one name that could cause issues for City.
The 21-year-old has played in a total of seven games across all competitions thus far, and before his team was eliminated from the tournament, he scored one goal against Blackpool in the league cup.
The forward has made seven appearances, starting four of them. However, as O’Neil continues to test different formations, he has fallen behind players like Matheus Cunha and Hwang Hee-Chan.
The manager chose to play two at the top at the beginning of the season, which allowed Silva to play to his strengths alongside Cunha, who has shown off his direct attitude and has frequently caused difficulties when he is on the ball.
The final product is what Wolves are lacking, which needs to be fixed right away if the Old Gold are to benefit from this afternoon’s encounter versus City.
Fabio Silva should start the matchup with Manchester City.
Silva is more than proficient in front of goal, as evidenced by his two loan stints last season. He scored a total of 16 goals while playing for both Anderlecht and PSV in the 2022–23 season.
Antonio Ma, a U23 scout, praised them as “intelligent”
Mango has complimented the 21-year-old prodigy for his “terrific” mobility in the final third, a feature of his game that might hurt City if the opportunity presents itself.
Cunha, whose record of successful take-ons over the past year places him in the top 3% of forwards in Europe’s top-five leagues, is the best person to open up space and opportunities for Silva to try to latch onto.
The Brazilian averages 2.50 successful take-ons per 90, according to FBref, indicating where an attack may grow for players earning £80k a week like the Portuguese, who might be valuable if paired again with the former Atletico Madrid star.
Since the team suffered such a huge blow in the summer, it will be a difficult occasion for the hosts, as it seems most games are this season. However, football is unpredictable, and Silva might just be the player to make the difference this afternoon.
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