Wolves produced just their second Premier League win of the season on Friday, as they triumphed 2-0 over Aston Villa at Molineux.
Here are our Scout Notes from the West Midlands derby.
“SOLID” WOLVES
This was a fully deserved victory for Wolves, who executed their game plan to perfection at Molineux.
Rob Edwards’ troops have now avoided defeat in four of their last six home matches, a run which has seen them keep three clean sheets, as they continue to show defensive improvement under their new head coach.
It suggests Liverpool’s visit to Molineux on Tuesday might be a trickier night for the Reds than the fixture difficulty ratings would have us believe.
“The defending was amazing, there was desire to block and defend our goal with our lives. You need that not just in a derby, but all the time. We have been more solid – the stats over the last 15 games, we are right up there for defensive work. But the odd defensive mistake, you get punished at this level. We’re improving, that’s all we can do. We’ll keep our heads down and stay grounded. We will show spirit and fight and keep picking up as many points as we can.” – Rob Edwards
Yerson Mosquera (£4.3m) and the fit-again Toti Gomes (£4.2m) both impressed at the back, banking defensive contribution (DefCon) points in the process.
The advanced Jackson Tchatchoua (£4.4m) was superb, too.
He whipped in a match-high six crosses from open-play and helped create the opener for Joao Gomes (£5.3m).
“Because he’s so quick there’s an expectation he beats a man and puts a cross in. I want him to be brave and positive and on the front foot. His defensive work was excellent as well.” – Rob Edwards on Jackson Tchatchoua
MOSQUERA NEARS BAN + WHY TOLU WAS BENCHED
Despite what the FPL site says, a first-half booking for Mosquera at Molineux took him to nine yellow cards for the season, not 10.
However, one more caution before Wolves’ contest their 32nd fixture will lead to a two-match ban.
In other news, Edwards said his decision to take Tolu Arokodare (£5.4m) out of the Wolves starting line-up was “purely tactical”, after the Nigerian forward suffered racial abuse last week.
With Tolu benched, Adam Armstrong (£5.4m) played the central striker role and delivered the assist for Joao Gomes’ opener, with Mateus Mane (£4.6m) deployed to his left in a slightly more advanced role.
Above: Wolves’ average position map v Aston Villa, featuring Adam Armstrong (no 9) and Mateus Mane (no 36)
ROGERS BLANKS AGAIN
Morgan Rogers (£7.7m) blanked for the eighth time in 11 matches on Friday, despite racking up a match-high four shots at Molineux.
However, the issue for Rogers is not the number of attempts he takes: no player in any position has produced more shots since Gameweek 18, but rather the quality.
Indeed, just one of Rogers’ last 32 attempts on goal has been an Opta ‘big chance’.
His expected goals (xG) per shot rate in that period is consequently just 0.07.
Above: Morgan Rogers’ xG shot map in Gameweeks 18-28
It’s not just a Rogers issue, however, as the goals have dried up for Villa, too.
Unai Emery’s team have now scored just five times in their last eight Premier League matches, with their offensive play frequently slow and predictable.
“Disappointing. We didn’t do anywhere near enough to create chances and score goals. We controlled the game in parts, it was not all doom and gloom. But we did not create enough chances.” – Morgan Rogers
It’s a worrying loss of form for Villa, triggered by injuries to Boubacar Kamara (£4.9m), Youri Tielemans (£5.9m) and John McGinn (£5.4m). The underperforming Ollie Watkins (£8.6m) has been particularly poor recently, with many keen to see Tammy Abraham (£6.0m) get an opportunity from the start.
Emery actually paired the forwards together for a short period on Friday, but it’ll likely be one or the other who starts in midweek.
“Keep going forward. Hard work and looking up always. He will score goals again, sure.” – Unai Emery on Ollie Watkins
Villa could drop to fourth over the weekend, having taken just nine points from their last eight Premier League games.
Next up: European hopefuls Chelsea (h) and Manchester United (a).
Tyrone Mings (£4.3m), meanwhile, dropped to the bench against Wolves, having picked up a “niggle”.
“The only one [with an issue] is Tyrone Mings because he has a niggle but he is on the bench.” – Unai Emery on Tyrone Mings
