Wolverhampton Wanderers

Charlotte Coates
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Wolves secured their Premier League status some time ago and have produced some brilliant performances this season.

The latest loss to Crystal Palace was certainly one to forget but there is reason to be excited for the next campaign.

Manager Gary O'Neil has transformed fortunes at Molineux this season and performances are likely to improve further after another pre-season learning the methods of O'Neil.

Wolves have been unfortunate with key players, such as Pedro Neto, being injured for lenghty spells and O'Neil highlighted that post-match to BBC Match of the Day: "There's a lot of reasons for the drop off. It's the smallest squad in the league and young.

"Pedro Neto has been injured. We haven't been able to name our front three together."

With a fit and firing squad, Wolves could be a surprise package next season.

Gary O'Neil spoke to BBC Match of the Day after Wolves' defeat against Crystal Palace: "We beat ourselves really in the first half when we gave ourselves a mountain to climb. We started the game well but we allowed Palace to press us high up the pitch. You could feel it in the stadium and Palace started to grow from it.

"We've had an incredible season apart from today. Lots of positives but we can't keep talking about how well we've done. We need to find ways to go about it slightly differently. We have a lot of work done between now and the end of the season.

"Great response in the second half. We had momentum but the third goal for them kills the game off. We haven't quite reached the level we are at at the start of the season.

"There's a lot of reasons for the drop off. It's the smallest squad in the league and young. Pedro Neto has been injured. We haven't been able to name our front three together. We can get better at decision making and errors on the ball. I'm pleased we've seen the flaws. We can learn some stuff and there's a lot to learn. Maybe we are easier to play against.

"We have a big game at Anfield next week. The fans have great perspective here. They understand the work that's been done in difficult circumstances."

• Crystal Palace have won five of their last six Premier League games (D1), indeed since Oliver Glasner’s first game in charge in February, only Man City (9 wins, 29 points) and Arsenal (9 wins, 28 points) have won more games and points in the competition than the Eagles (6 wins, 21 points).

• Crystal Palace's Jean-Philippe Mateta has scored 10 goals in 12 Premier League appearances under Oliver Glasner, just one fewer than he netted in the combined 79 games he played under Roy Hodgson (5) and Patrick Vieira (6) in the competition.

• Wolves have lost six of their last seven Premier League games against Crystal Palace (W1), indeed since their promotion ahead of 2018-19, only against Liverpool (10) and Man City (8) have they lost more matches in the competition than against the Eagles (7).

• Michael Olise has been directly involved in 15 goals (10 goals, five assists) in just 18 Premier League appearances for Crystal Palace this season, already his most goal involvements in a single campaign in the competition, having registered 13 goals (2) and assists (11) combined in 37 games last season.

• Eberechi Eze scored his 24th Premier League goal for Crystal Place in the Premier League, while 33% of those have been assisted by Michael Olise (8).

INSERT MATCH REPORT HERE

Were you at the ground or following along from home?

Wolves fans, give us your thoughts on the game.

Tell us what you made of the performance, Eagles supporters.

Follow all the reaction here

There are eight Premier League games taking place today, and you can stay updated with all of them via our live page.

Keep up with all the action and reaction here.

Chris Sutton is making predictions for every Premier League game this season against a variety of guests.

For this weekend's matches, he takes on Kasabian frontman Serge Pizzorno.

Sutton's prediction: 1-2

Fair play to Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner for what he has done at Palace since taking charge in February.

His initial results were not great and I thought it would be difficult to change the team's brand of football in such a short space of time, but he has changed it and they are getting results.

Having Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise fit has obviously helped the Eagles a lot in an attacking sense, and they are creating lots of chances for Jean-Philippe Mateta.

I can see those three having more joy against a Wolves team who have gone off the boil in recent weeks and are stumbling towards the end of the season.

Serge's prediction: 1-1

Palace are looking pretty strong but Wolves boss Gary O'Neil will not let his side canter through their final home game of the season.

Read all of the predictions here

Holly Bacon
BBC Sport journalist

Gary O’Neil has been speaking to the media before Wolves host Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday (15:00 BST kick-off).

Here are the main lines from his news conference:

• Pedro Neto has returned to training but will not be involved on Saturday because he has "not done enough at high speeds to guarantee it's not a risk for him". However, Santiago Bueno is back and available.

• O'Neil said "the change in results and momentum" show how injuries have impacted them this season, adding: "No excuse, of course - we understand all teams have injuries. To have no forwards available for a long part of the season is tough in the Premier League."

• On next season: "We want to push on so I don’t want it so be seen as 'yeah we’ve done OK this year and everyone can go off and be happy'. It's something to build on."

• He said he believes Crystal Palace's upturn in form is down to both the change in manager and key players returning. He said: "The new coach and fresh ideas, they've got [Ebrechi] Eze and [Michael] Olise back, and [Marc] Guehi coming back. Roy Hodgson did a fantastic job for a very long time. The changes are not only due to form and not only due to a change of coach. It will be a tough test for us - they're on a really good run."

• He added: "A last home game that we want to be enjoyable for us and the fans. A chance to go out on a high."

• On the club's plans for the summer, O'Neil said there is lots still to be discussed but he "isn't sure how much they will be able to do". He added: "I don't think there will be money available to us if nobody leaves. If we decided not to sell a big player there may be some bits and pieces we can do. The club is expected - in the foreseeable future, maybe not long-term future - to be able to fund itself."

• Offering more on spending potential, O'Neil said: "I think it won't be the same as last year where we have to sell loads and make a huge profit, but I wouldn't expect it to be a spending spree."

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences

Image source, Getty Images

Wolves have announced two pre-season friendlies in the United States against Premier League opposition.

They will play West Ham in Jacksonville on Saturday 27th July and then travel to Annapolis, Maryland to face Crystal Palace on Wednesday 31st July.

It will be the club's first trip to the US in 43 years and the general manager for marketing and commercial growth Russell Jones told the club's official website, external: "Here at Wolves, we have a proud and long-standing connection with the States, having played such a significant role in first professional league back in 1967 as the LA Wolves.

“Bringing the first-team to the US is a major next step and we are looking forward to working with our US-based supporter clubs to put on a series of events for existing and new fans travelling to the games.

“Aside from the opportunity to grow the club’s fans base, the tour will also provide a number of exciting exposure opportunities for club partners looking to grow their brands in the US.”

Here are the key facts and figures before Saturday's game between Wolves and Crystal Palace in the Premier League.

• Wolves have lost five of their past six Premier League games against Crystal Palace. However the exception was a 2-0 win in this exact fixture last season.

• Crystal Palace have won 55% of their Premier League games against Wolves (six from 11). Of sides they have played at least 10 times in the competition, only against Stoke (70%) do they have a higher win rate.

• Wolves have conceded 60 Premier League goals this season - their most in a single top-flight campaign since 2011-12 - when they finished bottom (82). Since the start of February they have conceded 29 times in 15 games, with only Sheffield United (46), Luton (40) and West Ham (38) shipping more in that time.

• Crystal Palace have won four of their past five Premier League games, as many as they had in their previous 24 combined. They have scored four or more goals in two of their past four Premier League games, as many times as they had in their previous 82.

• Following goals against Luton and Manchester City in his last two games, Hwang Hee-chan is looking to score in three consecutive Premier League games for the first time. He has 12 goals overall this season - only Raul Jimenez has scored more in a single Premier League campaign for Wolves (13 in 2018-19, 17 in 2019-20).

• Michael Olise has been involved in 12 goals in his past 12 Premier League games - scoring eight and assisting four. Meanwhile, team-mate Jean-Philippe Mateta has scored six goals in his past six league appearances.

Mike Taylor
BBC Radio WM reporter

"If the season had gone another way, coming here and losing 5-1 at this stage could have been an absolute disaster," said Gary O'Neil after a testing evening at Manchester City last weekend. "It isn't, because of the work that has been done."

Wolves will meet their home supporters for the final time this season on Saturday, and they can be pretty confident of the reception their fans will give them.

After a season where they have not merely avoided 'disaster' - but proved capable of challenging even the most fancied sides in the Premier League - fans who feared the worst in August were soon reassured.

"We appreciate their backing and their following," said O'Neil. "I hope they understand how much of a success and how much work the players have put in to get the season to the point that it is."

With his touchline ban now out of the way, he spent most of the City game whispering conspiratorially into a microphone, as if he were sending information back to MI6 rather than his assistant Tim Jenkins.

Now, he can look forward to thanking the faithful fans on the field after Saturday's game against Crystal Palace.

However, he won't be allowing the players to treat it as a lap of honour. The run of results throughout March and April that saw Wolves drift away from the European places, which briefly seemed within reach, wounded O'Neil and his players - unkindly, given the pre-season expectations.

While there were clear reasons for the decline, as we have read and heard O'Neil spell out many times, the standards have still been set high.

Although their effort was beyond reproach, O'Neil was by no means pleased with their performance against Manchester City.

He was regretting the "terrible... crazy mistakes", though it could certainly be argued that those mistakes came from good intentions, such as trying to play with ambition rather than merely sitting back and hoping to fend off the champions, which left no tolerance for errors.

But, as O'Neil noted, Wolves' final home game will be free of the stresses faced by other teams below them in the Premier League.

The real pressure inside Molineux might start to build after the final games, when we see how Wolves respond to O'Neil's wish for them to be better-equipped to cope with the rigours of the league next season.

Listen to live commentary of Wolves v Crystal Palace on BBC Radio WM at 15:00 BST on Saturday

And tune in to The West Midlands Football Phone-In every weeknight from 18:00 BST

We asked for your views on Saturday's match between Manchester City and Wolves.

Here are some of your answers:

Manchester City fans

Stella: Much more dynamic performance by City than of late. The performance of Haaland drew all accolades understandably, but also Gvardiol’s performance was top-drawer too. Being picky, it’s a pity we couldn’t keep a clean sheet; perhaps Ederson and the defence should have done better. Nonetheless, it’s a convincing three points and we now focus on Fulham.

Peter: Great all-round performance, every player was 8 out of 10 or better. Haaland was unplayable, magic. So pleased for Alvarez, he would start in every other team in the world, but he doesn't complain, just gets on with it, and boy does he deliver when he gets his chance. Bravo.

FBA: Our game: Pressure. Pressure. Constant Pressure. Goal. Goal. Constant Goals. Three wins needed now to get four titles. FA Cup final in three weeks, we can still get the double. Come on City!

Dave; We all know how this ends. City are back in the groove and totally focused on an unprecedented fourth consecutive title.

Wolves fans

Rugby Wolf: Just as predicted a goal fest for City. This useless defence always lets us down. We have to invest in some quality players - mainly defenders - or we will suffer next season and relegation will be an issue.

Tarciso; It continues to show how biased officials and VAR are against Wolves. I am not saying that City did not deserve to win the game, but it is so clear, that all 50/50 decisions go against Wolves, even when City did not require them. The first penalty took away all the momentum Wolves were trying to build to give City some sort of problems.

Michael: Totally outplayed. No complaints about the result but the standard of refereeing was appalling! Referee gave the first penalty because the City players shouted at him and VAR didn’t intervene. He then initially didn’t give the second penalty, which it blatantly was, VAR intervened and he changed his mind.

Robert: Kilman had a game to forget. Dawson knew how to keep Haaland quiet and how he was missed. Wolves attempting to play an open game made for an interesting watch but also made it easy for City.

Image source, Getty Images

Former England winger Chris Waddle says Wolves approached their trip to Manchester City in the "wrong way" and "played into their hands".

Erling Haaland scored a first-half hat-trick to give City a healthy lead going into the break before Hwang Hee-chan's consolation was followed by Haaland's fourth and a Julian Alvarez strike.

"Wolves came here today probably thinking 'how do we play?'" Waddle told BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast.

"They like to play football and probably that was the wrong way to do it. They should have in the first-half at least make it hard and high tempo and cleared it and got it up the pitch and try to turn Manchester City. They didn't, they played into their hands.

"City just grind teams down. Where do you stop them - on the right, down the middle, on the left? They just come from everywhere."

Wolves boss Gary O'Neil said he was "disappointed" with the decision to give City an early penalty after Rayan Ait-Nouri collided with Josko Gvardiol but Waddle does not believe it was controversial.

"It was a penalty," he added. "Ait-Nouri didn't see Gvardiol and didn't look around him. He put his foot through it and he's obviously kicked into him. It's a clear penalty.

"Once that went in you could see the body language of Wolves thinking 'here we go'. Wolves do concede goals and that's the one thing you can't do when you go to the Etihad.

"You have to make it as hard as possible. If you can stay 0-0 for the first-half at least you think you might get something out of the game but once they conceded it was just one-way traffic."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Gary Lineker introduces highlights and analysis from Friday and Saturday's six Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up on the action on BBC iPlayer here.

And you can watch highlights of Sunday's games on Match of the Day 2 here.

Listen back to Saturday's BBC Radio 5 Live match commentaries in full:

• Burnley v Newcastle United

• Manchester City v Wolves

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Let's face it, no-one was expecting Wolves to get anything from a trip to Manchester City, not after a run of seven games without a win that only ended with a narrow success against relegation-threatened Luton.

But it must have been galling for Gary O'Neil, sat high in the stands, a legacy of a previous instance of speaking his mind about the performance of match officials, to leave the Etihad feeling like he had been let down again.

Taking a step back, it is easy to understand that Craig Pawson's decision to award Manchester City their first penalty was not going to be overturned.

But when you watch the replay, it is hard not to reach the same conclusion as O'Neil. What was Rayan Ait-Nouri supposed to do? He cannot disappear.

Josko Gvardiol goes into the situation with force, he gets his shot away and his momentum takes him into Ait-Nouri, who admittedly does not play the ball.

But was the Morocco international playing the man?

It doesn't matter how and in the context of a 5-1 defeat, it is a footnote.

Moments matter though. Without that early goal, City might have got stressed and Wolves might have been able to cling to something.

Football can be immensely frustrating at times. This was one of those days for Wolves and O'Neil.

Image source, Getty Images

Wolves manager Gary O'Neil to BBC's Match of the Day: "We helped them, we did help them. They are obviously an incredible side and they punished us for mistakes, but some of our mistakes were terrible.

"A couple of ridiculous turnovers for the ball, like really bad that cost us and the first goal. The officials don't make any difference to the result today, but I don't agree with the awarding of the first penalty.

"I thought it was a pretty bad decision. You see a coming together like that all of the time. I think Gvardiol's motion and follow through creates the contact as much as Rayan. I'm not sure what Rayan is meant to do, you can't disappear at that moment.

"I was disappointed with the awarding of the first one, but then more disappointed with sort of the mistakes my own team make, so we just made it a bit too easy for Manchester City."

On being in the stands due to a touchline ban: "I would say it impacts how quickly we're able to get stuff on so it's hopefully something I don't repeat and hopefully, I get to spend the rest of my managerial career down on the touchline and be able to help the players.

"It didn't have much impact on the game, but it would have been nice to be down there and move things around a little bit quicker but we need to dust ourselves down."

• Erling Haaland scored his sixth Premier League hat-trick for Manchester City, with only seven players scoring more in the competition’s history. All six have been at the Etihad Stadium, with only three players netting more at a single venue.

• Manchester City extended their unbeaten run in the Premier League to 20 games (W16 D4). They’ve won each of the last six in a row, scoring four or more goals on five occasions in that run.

• Wolves have kept just two clean sheets away from home in the Premier League this season, though this was the first time they’ve shipped 4 or more goals on the road.

• Man City’s Erling Haaland became the third player to score multiple first-half hat-tricks in Premier League history (also v Nottingham Forest last season), along with Andrew Cole and Michael Owen (2 each).·

• Haaland scored four goals in a Premier League match for the first time. His fourth goal came in the 54th minute today, the second earliest four goal haul by a player in the competition’s history, after Gabriel Jesus in April 2022 (53rd minute against Watford).

• No side has conceded more penalty goals than Wolves in the Premier League this season (8). Only in 2021-22 (9) have they conceded more from the spot in a single campaign in the competition.

Chris Sutton is making predictions for every Premier League game this season against a variety of guests.

For this weekend's matches, he takes on Kings of Leon drummer Nathan Followill.

Sutton's prediction: 3-0

It definitely helps Manchester City that they are not in the Champions League because their full focus can be on this game.

City boss Pep Guardiola says his players are tired but they are unlikely to get much sympathy about that when they can bring Erling Haaland off the bench, like they did against Forest.

Wolves beat them at Molineux in September, but that is not going to happen again. Gary O'Neil's side saw off Luton last week but their form has fallen away in recent weeks and this should be comfortable for City.

Nathan's prediction: 4-1

Read all of the predictions here