Wolverhampton Wanderers will host Brighton & Hove Albion in the FA Cup on Wednesday. In the Premier League, Gary O’Neil’s team defeated Sheffield United 1-0. The Seagulls came from behind to tie Everton at one goal in the closing moments.
Preview (Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Brighton & Hove Albion)
While most of the Molineux headlines over the weekend were dominated by the confrontation akin to that of Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer between Vincentius Souza and Jack Robinson of Sheffield United, O’Neil’s team went about their business and ended a two-game losing run at home with a 1-0 victory over the cellar boys. On Sunday afternoon, Jose Sa and his shield had a lot of defending to do. The toothless Blades were unable to break down the hosts’ rearguard. Instead, Wolves won their third straight Premier League game thanks to a clever header from Alan Ait-Nouri.
Currently sitting in eighth place in the standings with just one point separating them from Wednesday’s opponents, Wolves are on the verge of making their way back to Europe. They can also do so through the FA Cup, where they have already eliminated Brentford and West Bromwich Albion in 2024. Wolves’ 2-0 victory over their Black Country rivals was marred by embarrassing instances of crowd unrest that resulted in a protracted play-stoppage. Nevertheless, Wolves are now just 90 minutes away from making it to the quarterfinals for the first time since they were eliminated against Watford in the 2018–19 season.
Wolves have only made it past the fifth round of the FA Cup twice since the year 2000. The other time was when the team lost to Southampton in the quarterfinals. Now, another South Coast team is attempting to crush the Wolves’ chances of winning a trophy. Wolves only managed to score once in their recent victory against Sheffield United. Brighton thrashed the Blades five goals to one in their FA Cup fourth-round encounter. Earlier in the campaign, Roberto De Zerbi’s team had thrashed Stoke City by four goals in their opening game.
Team News
After a successful match against Sheffield United on Sunday, O’Neil’s Wolves team lost just one player to injury, leaving Matheus Cunha, who suffered a hamstring injury, alone in the treatment room. It is yet unknown how soon the Brazilian will recover. O’Neil will undoubtedly make some changes to his lineup because he has nearly all of his players available. However, backup keeper Daniel Bentley hasn’t played in the FA Cup yet this year. He might not make it to the fifth round.
All four of Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, Boubacar Traore, Matt Doherty, and Santiago Bueno, as well as Tommy Doyle, who has started all three of Wolves’ tournament games so far, ought to be vying for starting positions at Molineux. On the other hand, Billy Gilmour’s sending-off in the draw with Everton has left Brighton without a man in midfield. The Scotland international will miss three games in all domestic competitions as a result of the incident.
Additionally, Evan Ferguson needed on-field care over the weekend for the visitors. However, De Zerbi acknowledged following the game that the striker’s confidence levels were more of an issue than any injuries, so there shouldn’t be any concerns about the offensive rotation on Wednesday night. The midfield pairing of James Milner (thigh) and Jack Hinshelwood (foot) is also still recovering.
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-1 Brighton & Hove Albion
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