Wolverhampton Wanderers

A 3-1 defeat by Leicester last time out has left question marks over Julen Lopetegui's West Ham future, while Gary O'Neil's struggles with Wolves continue and he too finds his position potentially hanging in the balance.

With three vital points on the line, it sets up for an intense battle at London stadium on Monday night.

While the two sides go head to head on the pitch, we asked our fan writers for each club to go head to head off it.

Each got to ask three questions of the other. Hammers fan Holly Turbutt from West Ham Network, external was asked the following by our Wolves supporter:

• Both managers come into this under a bit of pressure. What has gone wrong so far for Lopetegui and do you think he can turn it around?

• Former Wolves captain Max Kilman moved to West Ham this summer. How has he been getting on for you so far?

• Which West Ham players have stood out so far?

Wolves fan contributor Dave Azzopardi from Talking Wolves, external was given the following questions:

• With both Wolves and West Ham having difficult starts to the season, are you feeling confident that you can get something out of this game and why?

• What would West Ham need to do to stop Cunha scoring?

• Which Wolves weaknesses might West Ham be able to exploit?

Image source, Getty Images

Wolves have conceded more goals than any other Premier League side this season, letting in 36 goals in their 14 games.

Their past two games have seen them lose 4-2 to Bournemouth and 4-0 to Everton - they most recently shipped four or more goals in three consecutive league games in September 1985.

Former Chelsea and Brighton manager Graham Potter has been sounded out by both Wolves and West Ham. (Talksport), external

Former West Ham boss David Moyes is among the contenders for the Wolves job should Gary O'Neil be sacked but Luton boss Rob Edwards is an outsider, having been well thought of at Molineux, where he spent four years as a player. (Telegraph - subscription required), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

Mike Taylor
BBC Radio WM reporter

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With exquisitely painful timing, the Premier League announced at 12:00 today that Gary O'Neil had been nominated for the November manager of the month award, an hour or so before he was due at a press conference that most Wolves supporters assumed he would not still be in a position to take.

In a way, it made for a perfect summary of Wolves' season - lurching from inspiration to malfunction, often within the same game.

Over the past fortnight, the climbs and falls have become steeper, leading to Thursday's unfortunate contrast.

At the time of writing, O'Neil remains in post - despite reports that Wolves are considering alternatives and the expectation of many supporters that the club should already have done so.

In time, we shall see whether this is an act of indecision or faith.

Wolves held off from making a change in the summer of 2023, when Julen Lopetegui could not have made his discontent more plain for many weeks before he finally left.

Having installed O'Neil at speed, and been pleased with the result, the club expressed their confidence in him with a new long contract just before this season started.

Twelve days ago at Fulham, it looked as though this season might have been working out at last. It looked like Wolves - although still alarmingly prone to defensive lapses - might have the attacking verve to counter-punch their way out of trouble.

Five minutes into Saturday's game against Bournemouth, as Jorgen Strand Larsen headed in an excellent equaliser, you could still believe this.

But there are not many believers around just now.

The belief among the players that they could overcome the odds apparently against them was frequently in evidence last season, as they defied gravity in the Premier League table for several months.

At times, in the difficult early weeks of this season, you could still see it. At Fulham, it seemed to be glowing again.

Maintaining that belief will be an essential task for O'Neil, or anyone who replaces him, but every defensive pratfall must make it harder.

There is no easy choice here. Wolves travelled a similar path just two years ago, when they learned that a managerial change can fix a broken season, but it comes with substantial costs.

New managers are in a stronger position to demand new players - and the club has told us many times since then how conscious they are of those.

Simply changing the coach will not repair the squad's weaknesses or stop the unpredictable errors.

Few things cost a club more money than a change of manager - relegation is one of them.

Listen to full commentary of West Ham v Wolves at 20:00 GMT on Monday on BBC Radio WM

Tune into The West Midlands Football Phone-In from 18:00 on weeknights

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I don't know if it is inevitable that Gary O'Neil will be sacked because the Wolves chairman has publicly backed him in recent weeks and put his neck on the line by doing so. But they followed up a win at the weekend with shipping four goals at Everton, who are a team that have struggled to score in recent weeks.

It is a stressful situation for everyone involved at Wolves. They have the creativity required to compete at this level and going into Wednesday's game they had scored the same amount of goals this season as Manchester City. That is something they should be hugely proud of.

But at what cost? Because they have also conceded the most goals as well. It is disappointing to see as when they fold against teams they really do fold.

There has got to be some level of character from those players to avoid conceding so many. Especially against Everton as they are not a team that usually cut other teams open.

O'Neil said after the game that he was ready for the criticism and he will accept it, which is very fair of him given it's the way he set them up.

He is not naïve to the situation and knows that as their manager he is accountable.

I don't know if he will get sacked but at the minute it feels like one step forward for Wolves and two steps back.

Nedum Onuoha was speaking to BBC Sport's Katie Stafford

Katie Stafford
BBC Sport journalist

Wolves boss Gary O'Neil has been speaking to the media before Monday's Premier League game against West Ham (kick-off 20:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• He started by addressing his job security: "I don't think about me personally. I think for the team and where we are in the league. The last two results have let us down from the momentum we created. There is a lot in the last two games that the group need to take on and learn from very quickly if we want to have a chance of being more competitive and more consistent."

• In response to if he will still be in charge for Monday's game: "I can only keep going until things change. As far as I am aware, I took training this morning, players that started have recovered, players that didn't play have trained."

• He said the 'sacked in the morning' chants "don't hurt" him personally as "criticism is part and parcel" of his job but he is "disappointed" for the fans. "He added: "I understand how much it means to them every weekend. I know how much they give. Time, travel, money."

• O'Neil said his players "definitely have the courage and the fight" to turn their performances around but there have been too many mistakes in the last few games.

• On leaking the most goals in the league: "We demand better from them [the players]. The lads have to find a way to deal with the things in the moment."

• He said West Ham away "will obviously feel huge" but the label 'must-win' will be for every game while they remain in the relegation zone.

• On the battle ahead: "Wolverhampton Wanderers needs to stay in the Premier League, regardless of whether there are seven managers this season or whether it is me who takes it the whole way through. We need to find a way to keep this club in the Premier League."

• He said "he hadn't even considered" whether Julen Lopetegui will still be the opposing manager in the dugout as he faces growing pressure too. O'Neil added: "They have been in poor form, of course they have, but they go away to Leicester and have 30 shots. They have something there to work with."

Follow all of Thursday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

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In last season's Premier League, Wolves' Jose Sa had the best goals prevented numbers of any goalkeeper based on Opta's expected goals on target faced metric. Sa was expected to concede 65.2 but only let in 57, giving him an expected goals on target metric of 8.2.

Based on the same metric this season, the Portugal international has conceded five goals more than expected. He was expected to let in 16 but 21 goals have found the net when he's been playing.

Micah Richards was surprised by Wolves' 4-0 defeat to Everton on Wednesday as he thought Gary O'Neil's side were going to kick on after their last five Premier League matches, in which they lost only once.

"I thought Wolves had turned a corner," said the former Manchester City defender on Match of the Day.

"Cunha was playing really well and they looked like with their form and the teams they played, they had a good run of fixtures.

"When the manager starts talking like that, [saying] 'the club is bigger than me' and things like that, it sort of looks like the writing is on the wall.

"I have enjoyed him as a coach and don't want to see him sacked."

Did you know? Wolves have conceded 13 goals from set pieces this season (excluding penalties). That is the worst mark in the league, with Southampton second on eight.

Watch the full episode of Wednesday's Match of the Day now

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We asked for your thoughts after Wednesday's Premier League game between Everton and Wolves.

Here are some of your comments:

Sarah: This is totally embarrassing. We're playing like a Championship side. Sack the board and manager! Our season will be over and we'll be going down with performances like this. No spirit or bite, what's happened to the team of last season?

Dave: Enough is enough. O'Neil has to go now before the the transfer window opens.

Ben: Got to go I am afraid, Gary. Can't keep shipping goals at the rate we are and not look at how we are setting up.

Steve: Disastrous. What defence? People here have talked about the tactics so one has to agree as this has been the issue since game one of this season. No cohesive defence - we could score four but it's no good if the other sides score five. The owners obviously don't care, it's very visible.

Mike: Another poor performance. Defensively we are inept and anyone following the team knew we did not have the quality of players in this area at the start of the season and we are now paying for the lack of investment. Gary O'Neil has to go as tactically there are obvious weaknesses and unless new players come in January, relegation is inevitable.

Del: Sorry to say it but it's been obvious for some time that O'Neil is not able to put a team together and it's time for someone new to try to get us out of this mess.

Lee: New manager and new centre-half or it's bye bye Premier League football.

Gary Lineker presents highlights and analysis from eight midweek Premier League fixtures.

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

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Ipswich Town 0-1 Crystal Palace

• Leicester City 3-1 West Ham United

• Newcastle United 3-3 Liverpool

• Arsenal 2-0 Manchester United

• Aston Villa 3-1 Brentford

Arsenal have held initial talks to understand the situation of 25-year-old Wolves and Brazil forward Matheus Cunha. (Caught Offside), external

Want more transfer news? Read Thursday's full gossip column

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Wolves boss Gary O'Neil, speaking after the 4-0 loss at Everton: "Whatever the fans think of me, there is definitely nobody working harder than me and I will continue to do so until someone tells me not to.

"I go over there to see them because I appreciate every one of the Wolves fans. They have given me unbelievable support since I arrived at the football club. We managed to produce some unbelievable stuff last season with a team that was heavily tipped by most of the nation for relegation. We managed to enjoy it together.

"Now it is tough. I was happy to go over there and look them right in the face and take any criticism they want to throw at me.

"I accept responsibility for my part in that. Whatever criticism they want to throw at me will not change how I feel about them.

"Everyone at this football club needs to do more. We will get back to be ready to fight again on Monday [against West Ham].

"I will work with everything I have. I will back myself to get the most out of the group. I understand the drive for change [but] you never know how much of a percentage of supporters it is."

Listen to an extended interview with O'Neil on BBC Sounds

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Everton's performance, external

What did you make of Wolves' display?, external

Come back to this page on Thursday to find a selection of your replies

Six matches make up Wednesday's Premier League action, and we will bring you every moment.

• Manchester City v Nottingham Forest

• Everton v Wolves

• Newcastle v Liverpool - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Southampton v Chelsea

• Arsenal v Manchester United (20:15 GMT) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Aston Villa v Brentford (20:15 GMT)

All kick-off times are 19:30 GMT unless stated. Commentary of all six games available on the BBC Sport website and app.

Follow all the action and reaction here

Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, against a variety of guests.

For week 14 he takes on James Ryan, bassist with rock band The Slow Readers Club.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

Everton did well for half an hour or so against Manchester United but they just can't score - they have not found the net in any of their past four games.

In contrast, Wolves have definitely got a goal in them but their problem is that they are just so open defensively.

Gary O'Neil's side have conceded 32 goals in 13 league games, which makes me think even Everton will score against them.

This is a huge game at the bottom of the table and my first thought was to go for another draw, but I am actually going to go with the Toffees to nick the three points.

They certainly need them, with a tough run of games coming up, starting with the Merseyside derby on Saturday.

Everton manager Sean Dyche is under pressure at the moment and a section of fans appear to have really turned against him, but I don't think you can blame the club's situation on him.

Of course he carries the can for their results but he has been totally hamstrung over what he can spend on his squad, which is why they are struggling.

Ryan's prediction: 2-1

Everton could have scored a couple of goals against United, so I am going with them to win here. I don't think they are as bad as their results suggest.

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Image source, Getty Images

Everton have lost their past three home league games against Wolves. It is their longest losing home run against the West Midlands side, and as many defeats as they had suffered in their previous 18 against them at Goodison Park (W9 D6).

Image source, Getty Images

Wolves boss Gary O'Neil says Jorgen Strand Larsen is an important part of his Wolves side.

The forward was a silver lining in Wolves' loss to Bournemouth on Saturday, with a brace taking him to six Premier League goals so far this season.

"I think it was one of his best performances for us [against Bournemouth], he looked like a handful," O'Neil said in his latest news conference.

"His numbers are excellent for a new striker to the league. To hit the ground running from Spain is a big plus for us and him. It's not easy to do.

"I saw an improvement in his all round game which is important. His relationship with Matheus [Cunha] and trying to utilise his strengths better.

"I think he's found the jump in physicality difficult against certain centre-backs but I thought he was much better at that against Bournemouth. When we went into him with long balls, he did really well. It was a good performance and we're going to need him."

Asked about the tough fixture demands the festive period will serve up to test the striker, O'Neil said: "He's in a much better spot physically which helps him show more of what he is. I'm pleased for him.

"He's doing much more high-speed running and total distance than he was at his former club. That is the demands of the Premier League. While he wasn't quite at top speed, he was still able to produce big moments for the team. If we can now get both going at the same time, he can really help us."

Josh Lobley
BBC Sport Journalist

Wolves boss Gary O'Neil has been speaking to the media before Wednesday's Premier League game against Everton (kick-off 19:30 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• O'Neil confirmed "everyone is OK" and ready for selection against Everton.

• He had nothing to say to the fans who are directing frustrations at him: "I don't have a message. I have 90 minutes each week to deliver a message to our supporters. We understand that there will be tough moments and we try to limit them. It's just part and parcel for what we're trying to do."

• On Nelson Semedo's yellow card at the weekend, which leaves him suspended for Wednesday's match: "Nelson is adamant that he wasn't clapping sarcastically, but he misses this game. Lads are ready to step in and put in a display that gets us points."

• He seemed confident of his future at Molineux: "I have zero concerns around my role and future as a coach. I know every small detail of the situation we're dealing with at the football club. I am very comfortable with my own situation and I don't need it to be discussed."

• When asked what went wrong during Saturday's defeat to Bournemouth: "Crazy errors at really key stages in the football match. To give away penalties like that can't happen in the Premier League. Bournemouth didn't do too much else really. All of the good phases we produced were forgotten. A real disappointment."

• On Jorgen Strand Larsen, who scored a brace last time out: "He looked like a handful. His numbers are excellent for a new striker to the league. To hit the ground running is a big plus for us. It's not easy to do."

Follow all of Tuesday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Dazzling Dave
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

Wolves' performance against Bournemouth was a sobering reality check, undoing the optimism sparked by last week’s promising game. Despite having a squad with considerable talent, there is no excuse for Gary O’Neil to find himself in this precarious position with the resources at his disposal.

The contrast between the two sides was stark. Bournemouth executed their game plan with speed, precision, and cohesion. Wolves, on the other hand, looked lethargic, fragmented, and reliant on moments of individual brilliance. While Bournemouth looked like a well-coached side, Wolves appeared to lack strategic direction. The root cause of Wolves' struggles might not be immediately apparent, but the symptoms—disorganisation, uncertainty, and fragility—are impossible to ignore.

The match showcased a colossal lapse in discipline, with three penalties conceded. Such incidents are not just costly but unacceptable in professional football. While the penalties were undeniably clear-cut, they resulted from avoidable errors that exposed a lack of composure, defensive awareness, and accountability.

These errors are no longer isolated incidents; they are a recurring theme. The consistency of individual mistakes is alarming and suggests deeper issues related to coaching and morale.

Maybe O’Neil overthinks and complicates his tactics, creating confusion and uncertainty on the pitch. Footballers thrive on clarity and confidence. Instead of playing instinctively and fluidly, players become overly cautious, afraid of making mistakes within a system they don’t fully trust or understand.

Signs of discord are mounting. A heated exchange between Jose Sa and a couple of fans in the South Bank reflects the frustration bubbling over, while players bypassing O’Neil’s handshake as they head down the tunnel demonstrates growing tensions.

Wolves desperately need an identity, a defined system of play that suits the squad’s strengths, and a consistent approach that restores defensive stability. Without this, their Premier League future remains in serious jeopardy.

The spotlight is firmly fixed on O’Neil and the board.

Find more from Dazzling Dave at Always Wolves, external