Wolves v Everton: Preview and possible lineups

Simon Green 5 years ago 3k
Wolves are looking to get their life back in the Premier League off to a good start. Twitter/Wolves

Here we preview the Premier League match up between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Everton on the opening weekend of the new Premier League season.

Wolves:

The newly-promoted side have made sure to add a number of new signings over the summer to help their chances of retaining their Premier League status, and fans will expect big things this season after their sustained dominance of the Championship.

The likes of Rui Patricio, Joao Moutinho and record signing Adama Traore could all start. While there have been a lot of fresh faces, the majority have never played in the Premier League so it could be a difficult step up for them.

Everton:

Like their opponents, the 'Toffees' have made sure to bolster their squad significantly, making the majority of the signings in the last few days of the window. Marco Silva will look to introduce a much more attacking style of play at Goodison Park than fans were used to with Sam Allardyce last year.

Former Barcelona left-back Lucas Digne is likely to start over Leighton Baines in this one, while Richarlison will make his debut after a record move from Watford. The club's deadline day signings will not feature, having not trained with the squad enough. Meanwhile, Jordan Pickford could play his first match since his heroics during the World Cup for England.

Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo on the Everton squad's quality:

"We know, we look at Everton and see a good squad, good players, reinforcements in the last day. It is going to be tough but all the teams are going to be tough. Just look at the quality."

"A simple statistic that how many players of the Premier League were involved in the World Cup, that says a lot about the Premier League. No doubt about it and the best competition amongst clubs in the World."

Everton boss Marco Silva on his familiarity with the Wolves team:

“They did a fantastic job last season and deserve to play at this level. I know not only Nuno but some new players they have bought.

“They play well. It’s a tough game for sure. It will be the first game for everyone but we want a good result - a good result for us is a win.”

Did you know?

These two teams have not met in the Premier League since May 2012 just before Wolces were relegated from the division, with the match ending in a 0-0 draw.

Everton have won each of their last five Premier League games against newly promoted sides, keeping a clean sheet each time. They've never won six in a row against promoted clubs previously in the competition.

Everton's Theo Walcott scored in his only previous Premier League match at Molineux, netting for Arsenal in a 3-0 win in April 2012.

Prediction: 1-2

Possible lineups

Wolves: Patricio; Saiss, Coady, Boly; Doherty, Neves, Moutinho, Jonny; Costa, Bonatini, Jota

Everton: Pickford; Coleman, Jagielka, Keane, Digne; Gueye, Schneiderlin; Richarlison, Sigurdsson, Walcott, Tosun  

 

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