Wolverhampton Wanderers and Southampton meet again just three days after a 2-0 defeat which saw Nuno Espirito Santo's side knocked out of the FA Cup

This time, Wolves will visit Saint Mary's Stadium in an opportunity to overtake the hosts in the Premier League table.

The Saints will be full of confidence after their victory at Molineux, and will hope they can replicate the performance which sent them through to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. 

Wolves however will be desperate to get a run of form, after some uninspiring performances of late. 

  • Team News

Wolves will be without Willy Boly and Daniel Podence, who missed the midweek clash after minor injuries saw them join Fernando Marcal and Raul Jimenez on the injury list.

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The likes of Rui Patricio, Nelson Semedo and club captain Conor Coady will likely return to the starting line up after being rested during the FA Cup tie. 

Pedro Neto, Adama Traore, and Willian Jose, who came on as substitutes, are also expected to start. 

Southampton, who fielded a strong line up in their visit to Molineux, are anticipated to approach the game in a similar way, using the same players. 

Alex McCarthy is expected to replace Frazer Forster in net, who made a fantastic save to deny Traore from equalising earlier this week. 

Neither team have any suspensions.

  • Predicted Line-Ups

Southampton XI: McCarthy; Walker-Pieters, Salisu, Bednerak, Bertrand; Redmond, Romeu, Ward-Prowse, Minamino; Adams, Ings.

Wolverhampton Wanderers XI: Patricio; Dendoncker, Coady, Kilman; Semedo, Neves, Moutinho, Jonny; Traore, Willian Jose, Neto.

  • Last Meeting

The last Premier League meeting between the two sides was certainly an entertaining one. 

Coady's absence at the back saw a four at the back system debuted. The change saw an increase in chances which meant the system was favoured for a few games after. 

Southampton opened the scoring through Theo Walcott, which was a weak goal from Nuno's perspective. 

After Che Adams' first cross was blocked by Max Kilman, the rebound fell straight to Adams who delivered across the box on the second time of asking, giving Walcott an open goal to score in. 

It was then a case of being at the right place at the right time for Neto who smashed in the equaliser after Jimenez rattled the post.

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The goal meant the two sides shared the points in a 1-1 draw. 

  • Ones to Watch

Pedro Neto - Wolverhampton Wanderers 

The winger has been one of Nuno's brightest sparks in attack, and with each week, more emphasis is placed on him to get Wolves out of this dreadful run of form. 

This season, he has registered four goals and four assists in 23 appearances, already two more goal involvements in six less games. 

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Since Jimenez's injury back in November, Neto has been the player who has looked the most dangerous, and most likely to score. 

Neto also scored in the reverse fixture back in November to rescue a point for his side. 

If Wolves are going to get a result out of this game, then you can expect Neto to be heavily involved. 

Danny Ings - Southampton

The Southampton striker has been on top form this season, and is certainly giving Gareth Southgate a headache over who to take on the plane to the UEFA Euro 2021 tournament this summer. 

The former Liverpool man has scored seven times, as well as grabbing three assists, in 17 appearances. 

Ings has been a focal point for Southampton since his move from Merseyside, and proved that by scoring the opener in the midweek fixture. 

However, the Englishman was rather fortunate to score. Jon Ruddy's initial save rebounded off of Ings and deflected off Ruddy before finally rolling into the back of the net. 

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Despite this, the run demonstrated his intelligence as a striker to get into behind the Wolves defence whilst remaining onside. 

His movement in and around the box will be a handful for his England teammate Coady. 

Takumi Minamino - Southampton

The Japan international is arguably a dark horse for the Saints, who has scored in his last two Premier League starts - one for Liverpool and one for his new side. 

Minamino joined the Premier League champions on loan until the end of the season, and announced his arrival with a brilliant goal against Newcastle

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The 26-year-old did well to keep his balance, before smashing the ball into the roof of the net.

The forward did not feature against Wolves in the FA Cup tie as he has already played in the competition for Liverpool, so it can be expected that Minamino will start to give Ralph Hasehuttl's side some fresh legs. 

  • Pre-Match Thoughts

The devastating result during the week has proved that the visit to Southampton will be no easy task. However with the return of some key players, Wolves have got every chance against a side that has been heavily inconsistent throughout the season. 

With Hasenhuttl favouring an attacking and high pressing approach to games, it may provide a great opportunity for Wolves to counter-attack, which they have done so well over the last two seasons.

Nuno has been heavily praised over his sides ability to defend since being promoted to the Premier League, so if he can rekindle that against Southampton, there is no doubt that they can get all three points.

Wolves' confidence could play a big part in the result. The lack of goals and lack of creativity could mean that the side is low on confidence. If they can get a couple of early chances however, it might spur the side to a victory

  • How to Watch

Sunday's game will be live on Amazon Prime Video with coverage starting at 11:30am, 30 minutes before kick off at 12pm. 

 

 

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