Crystal Palace 1-0 Wolves: Eberechi Eze scores winner
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Eberechi Eze's winner in the 60th minute was Crystal Palace's first shot on target
Crystal Palace midfielder Eberechi Eze continued his excellent debut season in the Premier League and added to Wolves' troubles with the only goal at Selhurst Park.
The £19.5m signing from QPR settled a poor game with a thumping finish, his third league goal since making the step up last summer.
In a match of few chances, Willian Jose - in his first start for Wolves since joining on loan from Real Sociedad - was twice denied by Palace keeper Vicente Guaita.
Wilfried Zaha almost made it 2-0 when he hit the crossbar on the counter-attack.
The win lifted Palace above Wolves, who dropped to 14th in the table and are without a win in eight league games.
Palace bounce back
Hodgson praise for match-winner Eze
This was a timely win for Roy Hodgson's side, who had taken one point from their previous three league games since beating Sheffield United on 2 January.
Eze also scored in that game and the 22-year-old continues to be one of the big success stories of the season at Palace.
After Jordan Ayew had rolled the ball into his path, Eze drilled past Rui Patricio to inject some much-needed life into a match which had been a dreadful spectacle.
"I think he is a player who will improve all the team," said Hodgson of Eze's contribution.
"Most importantly of all he is getting used to the intensity of the Premier League and all the other things that the Premier League requires from you."
Hodgson, who made six changes and left new signing Jean-Philippe Mateta on the bench, will hope his side can kick on after avenging their FA Cup defeat by Wolves this month.
Testing times for Nuno
Wolves have a lot of concerns and must improve faster - Nuno Espirito Santo
Wolves were hoping to build on a hard-earned point at Chelsea in midweek but instead ended up going backwards at Selhurst Park.
They have taken only three points from the last 24 on offer and have won once in 11 league matches since losing talismanic centre-forward Raul Jimenez to a serious head injury.
Brazilian forward Jose, who has been brought in to fill the void left by Jimenez's absence, twice went close.
Guaita reacted well to tip a shot over the bar shortly before Eze's winner, and also kept out a header in the closing stages.
Wolves, without a goal in two games, are sinking fast and this is undoubtedly the biggest test of manager Nuno Espirito Santo's reign.
They have enjoyed some memorable moments under the Portuguese but need to start winning quickly to avoid getting sucked into a relegation fight.
Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson: "We have been stuck on 23 points or close to 23 points for a little while so it was good to move away from that total.
"A team like Wolves, they will climb the table sooner or later with the type of players they have and the organisation they have."
Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo: "It was not one of the best performances. We came with the expectation to try and improve and build up our game and momentum.
"We were organised in the first half, second half not so much. We lacked creativity, speed in possession and circulation and passes that break the lines of Palace. We didn't do it."
Eze shines again - the stats
Four of Eberechi Eze's five Premier League goal involvements for Crystal Palace have come in home games, including all three of his goals.
Wolves are without a win in eight league games (D3 L5), with only Fulham (10) currently on a longer run.
71% of Crystal Palace's league wins this season have come in the traditional Saturday 15:00 GMT kick-off slot (5/7).
Wolves have failed to score in seven of 21 league games this season, one fewer than they did in the entire 2019-20 campaign (8 in 38 games)
What's next?
Both teams are in action on Tuesday as Palace make the journey to Newcastle (20:15 GMT) and Wolves host an improving Arsenal at Molineux (18:00).
A huge day of matches in the Premier League on Saturday, all the goals and highlights are streaming now on BBC iPlayer
