Tottenham: Three Things to Look for from Wolves Sunday

Tottenham Hotspur travel to Molineux Stadium to face Wolverhampton on Sunday in the Premier League, what can Spurs expect from Wolves?

Having played the same basic style for several seasons under Nuno Espirito Santo what Wolverhampton want to do is not a real mystery for Spurs. While there may be some uncertainty as to how Wolves will line-up, Tottenham Hotspur can go into the match-up with a lot of certainty about how Wolves will approach the match. With the knowns and unknowns in mind, what can Spurs expect from Wolves on Sunday?

Flanking the Defense

Wolverhampton like to attack teams on the flanks by pushing out wide. The first name the comes to mind with this tactic for Wolves is Adama Traore. However, Traore often does not start and comes in later in matches to face a worn-down opposition. In addition to Traore, Wolves have Portuguese international Nelson Semedo and Brazilian Marcal on the wings.

Whatever combination of the three start for Wolves, expect the two on the pitch to see plenty of the ball. This is particularly true up the right flank where about 42% of all the Wolves attacks come from. This means that Sergio Reguilón needs to be prepared and likely will need some occasional help from the Tottenham left wing.

With all the play along the flanks, expect to see a lot of crosses as a result. While only 4% of all Wolves passes per match, they launch about 37 crosses per game. That is 11 more than Tottenham average and is one of the ways Wolves try to leverage the flank play.

The other approach with the wings is the long ball and the dribble, as all three wingers are pacey, strong dribblers who like to attack. Whether it is long balls, cross field passes, or just charging up the flanks, expect Wolves to try and get the ball wide and push up the two wings, particularly the right.

Shoot on Sight

While Wolves have only scored 14 goals in 14 games this season in the Premier League, it is not from a lack of trying. Wolverhampton average 2 more shots per match than Tottenham does, 13 to 11. However, Tottenham manage more shots per match on target, 5 to 4, which helps explain why Spurs are scoring more on less efforts.

The other major explanation is where the teams are shooting from. In many respects Wolves mirror Tottenham from under Mauricio Pochettino, where players have a shoot first and ask questions later policy. 43% of all the shots for Wolves on the season have come from outside the box. While players like Neves and Moutinho are good from distance, closer shots are the higher percentage looks.

Whereas Wolves have only had 5% of all their shots from inside the 6-yard box, Tottenham have managed 13% of there shots from close range. As you back out to the larger penalty area, the percentages are about even with Spurs shooting 51% of their shots in the penalty area – exclusive of the 6 – and Wolves are at 55%. However, Spurs only shoot 36% of their shots from outside the box.

This simply means Tottenham have been getting better looks at the goal and are turning them into goals at a higher rate than Wolves. However, Wolves are good on set-pieces and we have seen long shots cause issues for Spurs too. To count on Wolves not hitting the target is probably not the right tactic, because they take a volume approach.

Focus on Formation

The one thing that is somewhat unknown for Wolves this season has been their formation. According to Whoscored.com in 14 matches, Santo has used 7 different formations. While most of the formations (4) employ a three-back set-up, they have used four backs in two different formations in four matches. Throw in one match with 5 backs and Nuno is working to keep teams guessing.

Wolves have used a three back formation the most, nine times, so Spurs are most likely to see Wolves in a three-back formation. That back line is likely to play a bit deeper with Conor Coady and Romain Saiss leading the line. Wily Boly is the most likely candidate to be with the third in the back, giving Wolves, three big, strong bodies protecting Rui Patricio in goal.

What we ultimately know is that Santo is scrambling a bit as Wolves have struggled to score and are really hurting from the summer transfer of Dioga Jota to Liverpool and the injury to Raul Jimenez who has three goals. Most recently Wolverhampton has used three different formations in the last three matches.

Wolves used a 4-2-3-1 in a 0-1 home loss to Villa. Then they used a 5-3-2 in a 2-1 home victory over Chelsea. Most recently Santo ran out a 3-4-1-2 in a 2-1 road loss to Burnley.  What all those formations have in common is strength in the deep middle of the pitch, where Wolves have three high quality holding midfielders in Leander Dendoncker, Ruben Neves, and Joao Moutinho. They also try to leverage wide play whether further back with 5 or higher up like in the 4-2-3-1.

Regardless of formation, expect a box-to-box battle between Spurs and Wolves as both teams try to find holes behind the other defensively. Wolves are going to push wide, cross and shot whenever they have the opportunity. It will be up to Spurs to stop what they know is coming, regardless of how they are lined up. If Spurs can slow the play on the flanks and keep the shoots at a distance, they have a good chance of coming out on top.