Wolverhampton Wanderers’ will be hoping to return to the sort of form they showed in the first few weeks following the appointment of Julen Lopetegui when the Premier League season resumes this weekend.
The Old Gold have won just one of their previous six league matches and with the relegation battle proving to be extremely tight (the bottom nine are separated by just four points) it’s clear that they have to improve swiftly to avoid falling back into the bottom three.
The match against Nottingham Forest this weekend could be a crunch tie and Lopetegui will be looking at how his players have fared on international duty while working out his best possible starting XI ahead of the match.
One player who has impressed and could well be in contention for a start is winger Pedro Neto, who has only recently returned to the Wolves side following an injury which saw him miss the World Cup.
Will Pedro Neto start for Wolves against Forest?
The 23-year-old made his return from injury against Tottenham Hotspur at the start of the month, playing 45 minutes, while he played another 45 minutes in the two subsequent matches, and he is slowly getting back to full fitness.
Indeed, the player was called up to the Portugal U21 side for their international friendlies against Romania and Norway and was in wonderful form against the former just a few days ago.
He started the match and scored a wonderful goal by using his pace to charge down the left wing before cutting inside and unleashing a shot with his right foot that nestled into the bottom corner. He also assisted the first goal with the coach then substituting him at halftime in order to keep him fresh for the tie against Norway.
The “huge talent” – as dubbed by Alan Shearer – will be hoping that his recent performances have shown Lopetegui he deserves a place in the starting XI.
If the winger can replicate his form he displayed during his first season at Wolves, where he scored five goals and registered five assists, then the Molineux side may well be able to preserve their league status for the fifth straight season, thus giving the new manager a foundation to build upon.
The £50k-per-week gem is returning to form at precisely the right time for Wolves and this could be vital heading into the final few weeks of what has been an underwhelming campaign.
