Wolves might sell Pedro Neto this summer to ensure they do not breach profit and sustainability rules (PSR) and give manager Gary O'Neil funds to spend elsewhere, with Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester United admirers of the 23-year-old Portugal winger. (Sun), external
Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column
Mike Taylor
BBC Radio WM reporter
We should have known it.
Having allowed Wolves a heady afternoon at Stamford Bridge, on Matheus Cunha's biggest day so far, the sporting gods were at their most cussed last weekend.
Injuries removed first Hwang Hee-chan and then Cunha from the game against Brentford, drawing the teeth from the Wolves attack. Perhaps it demonstrated Cunha's importance to Wolves even more clearly than his hat-trick against Chelsea did, although there was more to the defeat than just that.
Wolves have shown us their best side so regularly this season, especially since Christmas, that we can briefly forget just how much strife most people agreed they were in only six months ago.
They have played to a higher level than most pundits suspected they could, more often than many fans imagined they would.
In such a competitive league, though, only the elite sides can expect to win games when they don't find their highest gears.
In midfield, Wolves are capable of upsetting exalted opponents, but only when they are note-perfect. Until Saturday, they had a blank injury list - a real rarity - and most of their players in form at the same time.
"The group have done an unbelievable job maintaining a high level generally," said Gary O'Neil, taking a positive view without hiding any truths. "I'm absolutely gutted we fell below it and the players will be as well, so we'll use the elation of last week and what we managed to produce compared to how we feel now to make sure we perform better than we did."
On a more technical level, he noted Brentford slowed the game to a pace that suited them to douse Wolves' fire. "There are going to be afternoons in the Premier League where the opposition make it tough, make it slow and we need to find a way to be better at it."
That is perhaps unlikely to be the pattern this weekend, as Tottenham on their own patch will surely set a more aggressive rhythm. Wolves are more effective if the opposition come out swinging, and are happy to counter-punch.
But, while Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Nathan Fraser - both players of real promise - would benefit from more opportunities, for the moment Cunha and Hwang give Wolves a sharper edge, and news of their fitness will be eagerly awaited.
Tottenham v Wolves - listen to live commentary on BBC Radio WM (DAB Black Country), Saturday 15:00 GMT
BBC Radio WM Football Phone-In - weeknights 18:00-19:00
Image source, Getty ImagesWolves manager Gary O'Neil has confirmed that forward Matheus Cunha sustained a "significant" hamstring injury in the first half of Saturday's defeat against Brentford.
O'Neil said: "It's a fairly significant injury to his hamstring. There's no timeline on it. I've spoken to Matheus a lot and he just wants to keep pushing to get back as soon as he can.
"He's started working on it already, so we're just going to monitor it week by week, day by day, see how far he can come and how quickly we can get him back. He's keen to get back out there as soon as possible.
"It's obviously a big blow to us, to the team and Matheus because of the work he's been doing - the form he was in was exceptional. These things happen, every team suffers injuries. Hwang Hee-Chan was gone for over a month with the Asian Cup and we managed to keep ploughing on and we need to do the same without Matheus."
Cunha is Wolves' joint-leading scorer with 11 goals across all competitions this season, a tally matched by Hwang.
Matt Cooper
Fan writer
Oh, how football can bring you crashing back to reality. Having beaten Chelsea convincingly at Stamford Bridge, losing to struggling Brentford at home just six days later does knock the stuffing out of you.
Wolves were poor on Saturday. That will have been impacted by the early withdrawal of talisman Matheus Cunha through injury, but the team did not look up to it from the start.
The first 15 minutes set the tone for how the rest of the game was going to play out. Conceding two sloppy goals and providing nothing much up the other end of the pitch meant it was a day to forget. Wolves struggled to play through Brentford, who were brilliant out of possession.
It is not a reason for concern, though. All teams have games like these but I am hoping that we will see a better performance against Spurs on Saturday. It will be a tough game but hopefully Spurs' high line will play into how Wolves want to play a lot more than how Brentford set up at the weekend.
Matt Cooper can be found at Talking Wolves, external
We asked you for your thoughts on Saturday's Premier League match between Wolves and Brentford.
Here are some of your comments:
Wolves fans
Frank: Wolves didn’t turn up. In the first half, they were very sluggish. Brentford got the goal and we didn’t improve, then they punished us. In the second half, we tried and got caught out for the second goal. Jose Sa has to do so much better. It's not often you beat a team four times in one season. Brentford were the better team so we need to learn from it and go again next week. A disappointing day.
Ian: Gary O'Neil has himself to blame, he should've put Hwang Hee-chan in the team. If not in the starting line up, he should've at least been on the substitutions bench. He should have known that Brentford were coming to get revenge for us knocking them out of the FA Cup, and that's what they did.
Mike: Second home game running where we were very poor in the first half and better in the second half. It might have been different if Dawson's goal had not been ruled out by VAR, but then we shot ourselves in the foot by giving away the second goal with a poor ball out from the back. It is not a game Dawson will want to remember.
Callum: Terrible, just terrible! Next we've got Spurs away and we've just lost 2-0 to the Bees. If we had won that one, we would be ninth [in the league]. Now we have to focus on Spurs, who are probably going to play better than the Bees. I just think that whenever we play at home now, we're just not looking as dangerous as we used to.
Brentford fans
Kyle: We played really well. You can see that Ivan Toney has really brought back the team's scoring form. I originally doubted Mark Flekken but his performance against Manchester City and his performance here [against Wolves] were both excellent. The form is back.
Gil: I wasn't at the match but this was a win we sorely needed. I’ve had a bad week myself and this cheered me up. Well done you Bees.
George: You don’t win games away against a team as lethal as Wolves are with their chances without a goalkeeper who you can believe in. Flekken has worked hard to prove to himself and his doubters why he is worthy of that very pink shirt, and it has finally paid off. A huge three points.
Phil: A much needed and good team performance. Mark Flekken is finally showing just how good he is. Ivan Toney is being Ivan Toney and we are three more points towards safety. Come on you Bees.
Mark Chapman introduces highlights and analysis from Saturday's seven Premier League matches.
If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up on the action on BBC iPlayer.
Listen back to BBC Radio 5 Live and 5 Sports Extra match commentaries in full on BBC Sounds:
Nottingham Forest 2-3 Newcastle
Image source, ReutersWolves' positive Premier League run stalled with a 2-0 home loss to Brentford on Saturday.
The defeat was Wolves' second in a row at Molineux, those results coming either side of an excellent 4-2 victory at Chelsea.
The hosts were not helped by top scorer Hwang Hee-chan's absence because of a calf injury and then fellow forward Matheus Cunha going off with a hamstring problem midway through the first half against the Bees.
Manager Gary O'Neil said: "We've done a really good job as a group. The group have done an unbelievable job maintaining a high level generally.
"I'm absolutely gutted we fell below it and the players will be as well, so we'll use the elation of last week and what we managed to produce compared to how we feel now to make sure we perform better than we did.
"There were factors which contributed but, if we look at the performance as a whole, it was obviously nowhere near good enough."
Wolves' Portuguese forward Pedro Neto, 23, is expected to attract bids this summer with Liverpool and Arsenal interested. (Football Insider), external
Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column
Image source, Getty ImagesTimothy Abraham, BBC Sport
Ivan Toney almost joined Wolves in 2014 only for the deal to reportedly fall through because of a failed medical.
They could have done with a striker with his cutting edge in this encounter, given their impressive wide play but lack of penalty-box threat.
It should be noted, though, that Wolves have played much of the season without a recognised front man and, in truth, goals haven't been that hard to come by without an out-and-out striker.
Indeed, this was their first blank after finding the net in 18 consecutive home league games since February last year - their longest scoring streak since a run of 22 games in the 1960s.
Their cause was not helped by an injured Matheus Cunha, who had been involved in 12 goals in Wolves' past 12 league games before this one, scoring seven and setting up five. His hat-trick had helped Wolves to a 4-2 win at Chelsea last time out.
Wolves fans will be relieved that the early prognosis is positive.
Here are the key facts and figures following Saturday's game between Wolves and Brentford in the Premier League.
Brentford have won their first away league game outside of London since March 2023 (2-0 at Southampton), ending a 10-game run winless run in such games (D2 L8).
Wolves have lost their first Premier League game across their last five meetings with Brentford (W3 D1), since losing their first game against the Bees in the competition (2-0 in September 2021).
Brentford have kept their first clean sheet in 13 Premier League games, since their 2-0 victory at Chelsea in October, ending their longest such run without a shutout in the competition.
Wolves had 17 shots in this match, their highest tally in a home Premier League game without scoring since October 2022 v Leicester City (21 shots).
Ivan Toney has scored three Premier League goals against Wolves, his joint-highest tally against a single opponent in the competition.
Image source, Getty ImagesIvan Toney scored his third goal in four Premier League games as Brentford clinched a deserved victory over misfiring Wolves at Molineux.
Christian Norgaard put the Bees ahead just after the half hour mark with a close-range header from a corner.
Toney secured the points with a crisp finish from Vitaly Janelt's low cross 13 minutes before the final whistle.
Pedro Neto struck the post for Wolves but Gary O'Neil's side suffered a rare off-day in front of goal.
Were you at the match or did you follow it from home?
Wolves fans - let us know your thoughts on the game here
There are seven games being played in the Premier League on Saturday and we will bring you every moment.
Follow all of the action and reaction here
All times are GMT
Listen to BBC Radio 5 Live match commentaries on BBC Sounds:
Chris Sutton is taking on Sexy Beast star Stephen Moyer for the latest round of Premier League predictions.
Sutton's prediction: 2-1
Brentford have lost eight of their past nine league games and are in a bit of bother - they badly need a positive result here.
Yoane Wissa should be back for the Bees soon after DR Congo lost in the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations, and that will help.
But how can I not back Wolves here, with the form they are in, and with Pedro Neto looking so dangerous? Gary O'Neil's side won the reverse fixture 4-1 in December and I don't see Brentford getting their revenge on Saturday.
Stephen's prediction: 1-0
Wolves have surprised a few people recently, and it seems to keep happening. I really like Brentford boss Thomas Frank, because he tells it how it is, but I am not sure what has happened to his team. They have suffered some bad defeats recently.
Gary O'Neil has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League home match against Brentford.
Here are the main headlines from his news conference:
Hwang Hee-chan is available against after returning from the Asia Cup, which has given "everyone a lift this morning" in training.
O'Neil said the forward "gives us a fantastic option from the bench this weekend and "there will be decisions to be made" when he selects his starting XI.
On defender Toti Gomes, who signed a new five-and-a-half-year contract this week: "It speaks volumes for what a great guy he is and the ability he has. When I first came in, he was out of the side, but even then he was desperate to make an impact so he trained in a way to get your attention. He's worked really hard and he deserves it."
He says his side are "more organised and structured" now and that is why they are more efficient in front of goal.
On the VAR report this week that said there have been 20 incorrect decisions this season: "I like VAR but if it’s going to stay, it needs to be better. At the FA Cup game at West Bromwich Albion, it was nice to know that when you scored, it definitely was a goal and you could celebrate."
Follow all of Friday's news conferences here
Here are the key facts and figures before Saturday's game between Wolves and Brentford in the Premier League.
Wolves have won four of their past six Premier League games, as many as in their previous 14 beforehand. They have netted 16 goals across those last six matches, as many as their previous 12 league games prior to this.
Brentford have dropped a league-high 26 points from winning positions in the Premier League so far this season. Indeed, after defeat to Manchester City on Monday, the Bees have now lost more games than they have won when opening the scoring this term.
Wolves have scored in each of their past 18 Premier League home games, since a 1-0 loss to Bournemouth in February last year. They last had a longer scoring streak at Molineux in league football between October
1999 and September 2000.
No team is on a longer current run without a Premier League clean sheet than Brentford. They have conceded in each of their past 12 games in the competition, shipping at least twice in each of their past six.
Pedro Neto has eight assists for Wolves in the Premier League this season – only Adama Traore has ever provided more for the club in a single campaign (nine in 2019-20)
Brentford’s Neal Maupay has scored in each of his past three Premier League appearances. He has never scored in four in a row in the competition before. He last scored in four straight league games in September 2018 in the Championship.
BBC Sport pundit Michael Brown has been answering your questions on all things Premier League.
Frank asked: Teams like Wolves who play without a number nine are doing very well. Are old fashioned strikers needed anymore? Has the game changed?
Michael replied: The game has changed. I think we've seen a different type of striker.
But look at Liverpool and Arsenal for example, people mention they still need a number nine, so people are saying it, but we're not necessarily seeing those old-fashioned nines.
Manchester City did so well with the false nine, but then Erling Haaland came in and scored 50 goals. They still needed him and they still wanted a number nine, but it depends on your playing style.
Michael Brown was speaking to BBC Sport's Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport pundit Michael Brown has been answering your questions on all things Premier League.
Russell asked: The January transfer window was very quiet compared to recent years, probably due to Financial Fair Play and points deduction worries. Do you think the days of teams spending hundreds of millions each window are over? And if so, what long-term effects might that have on the Premier League?
Michael replied: I think we are going to see different spreads of spending. We're not going to see hundreds of millions in the January window because people will be more conscious of spreading those payments and their budget will already be in place.
They will probably do a lot more of it before the season, so I think we are going to see less of the the excitement of the January window because of quite obvious reasons.
The business will be done in the summer and clubs will say ‘this is what we've got'. They might have to send others on the way out first, rather than just spending that money and getting rid of players later.
Michael Brown was speaking to BBC Sport's Nicola Pearson
Dazzling Dave, Always Wolves Fan TV, external
At the beginning of the season, everyone was certain Wolves would face relegation, so now aiming for the top seven is a pleasant surprise.
Let’s look at five key factors that could make the difference in pursuing one of those seven spots.
1. Injuries
The first crucial element is to avoid injuries. Wolves have limited options on the bench and a small squad. While the team coped admirably without Pedro Neto for a while, missing a couple of key players could have a significant impact.
2. Goal scoring
Wolves have been scoring for fun lately and need to maintain this momentum.
They should continue to instil a diverse goal-scoring strategy, by encouraging different players to contribute to goals in unique ways. This can keep their opponents guessing, whilst maintaining a competitive edge.
Gary O'Neil's side have faced difficulties when playing against teams that have adopted a defensive approach. They have found it challenging to break down these teams and must now discover the creativity needed to overcome these obstacles.
3. Defensive stability
Wolves have let in more goals than they'd like, so O'Neil is expected to concentrate on shoring up the defence and enhancing focus. They need to steer clear of the habit of starting games slowly and falling behind early if they want to compete for a top-seven spot.
Additionally, they have been focusing on improving their set-piece defending. Although they had been making progress in this aspect, they may be disheartened by some of the goals they have recently conceded.
4. Tactical versatility
It's crucial to keep a flexible gameplay strategy and O'Neil has shown a readiness to adjust tactics and playing style based on the opposition and match circumstances. While some managers stick rigidly to their beliefs, this adaptability might just be what propels Wolves to a top-seven position.
5. A little bit of luck
Luck is also a factor to consider. With many teams competing for the top seven, Wolves might need some of their rivals to face challenges.
There’s a lot that needs to fall into place for Wolves to get that top-seven finish, but with the team and morale flying high, you never know!
BBC Sport pundit Michael Brown has been answering your questions on all things Premier League.
Bobby asked: Do you think Julen Lopetegui has got any regrets from giving up the Wolves job, given the amazing turnaround under Gary O'Neil?
Michael replied: I don't think Lopetegui’s got regrets. I think he'll say he had his plan and he had his beliefs with what he wanted to do going forward and with that support behind him. If he didn't get on with everybody or be in the same direction then he'd say I'll wait for another chance.
Would he be thinking 'I'd like to be in the middle of the Premier League and looking after Wolves?' Yeah, I'm sure he would, but that's football. It is an incredible job by Gary O'Neil. Lopetegui’s got great experience and I don't think he'll be too disappointed.
Michael Brown was speaking to BBC Sport's Nicola Pearson
Mike Taylor, BBC Radio WM
The poker face needs some work.
"I didn’t really like us at 4-1," said Gary O’Neil on Match of the Day 2. "I saw a little lack of focus, so I spoke to them about that."
He couldn’t suppress his grin, though.
The radio commentary position at Stamford Bridge is immediately behind the dugouts, so I can confirm that a few minutes after their fourth goal, as Matheus Cunha and others indulged in a few tricks and flicks, O’Neil barked out an order to rein it in.
He had the air of a parent catching the kids red-handed with a secret stash of biscuits, but you could hardly blame them for getting greedy.
Even before falling behind, Wolves had looked sharp. After Chelsea took the lead, Wolves attacked mercilessly.
Yes, the first two goals took deflections, but to use that to account for Chelsea’s defeat was a bigger deflection still.
"We didn’t manage well the stress," Mauricio Pochettino reflected accurately. Chelsea, on their own ground and with a team assembled at colossal cost, were not merely outplayed but seemingly had their senses scrambled by Wolves’ relentless approach.
The image left in the mind from Sunday is of Wolves in their changed kit attacking in waves, as if Stamford Bridge was being constantly buzzed by the Red Arrows.
That picture may explain the difference between Wolves now and in recent seasons. Since returning to the Premier League, they have always had pace, but they no longer raid alone.
Many times, even when playing well, their frontrunners used to find there was little support to finish off their good work. Look back at Sunday again and see how often, when a Wolves player wins possession, a squadron of five or six hurtle up the field together.
That approach brings risk as well as reward, of course, which would be one reason why O’Neil was keen to remind his players of the importance of keeping focus and not forgetting the basics – something that cost them in the final moments against Manchester United.
But, their goalscoring surge – an avalanche relative to the past three seasons – is based on a growing spirit of adventure. Most of all, the players look like they are having a good time.
They will not win every game like this, but it is becoming a lot more fun to watch them try.
*Wolves v Brentford – live commentary on BBC Radio WM (95.6FM), Saturday (15:00 GMT)
*BBC Radio WM Football Phone-In, weeknights (18:00-19:00 GMT)
