What to expect from Wolves as Tottenham visit the Molineux?
By Aaron Coe
As Tottenham Hotspur and new Head Coach Nuno Espirito Santo travel to face Santo’s old Wolverhampton Wanders side, what should the Spurs expect?
Although Tottenham Hotspur had a defeat midweek in Europe – as a heavily rotated side fell in Portugal – the Spurs and Wolves could not have had more different starts to their seasons. Tottenham played defending Champions Manchester City, benefitting from some player absences and beat the champs 1-0. Wolverhampton went on the road to Leicester City and despite outshooting the Foxes 17-9 the Wolves fell 1-0. Regardless of how things went last week, this week is another opportunity for three points for both sides, so what should Tottenham expect from the Wolves?
New coach different philosophy?
Sometimes when a new manager comes in, you see immediate differences in a squad. With Tottenham Hotspur, there is a clear uptick in both fitness and aggression this season compared to the last under Jose Mourinho. For the Wolves, however, after four years under Santo, the changes from Bruno Lage to the side are much more subtle.
Lage made his name as a manager in Portugal, leading Benfica to two cup victories in two seasons with the team. However, unlike Santo who is only making changes at Tottenham following about 18 months of Mourinho, the Wolves were under Santo for four seasons, thus Lage has not made wholesale changes.
Granted it was on the road against a good Leicester City side, but the Wolves played the same aggressive, counter-attacking style they did under Santo. More significantly they played the same basic shape with a 3-4-3 formation against the Foxes.
The formation is particularly significant as Bruno Lage prefers to play with four in the back. Such is Lage’s preference for a back four, in 74 matches as Benfica manager he never once played with a back three, according to transfermrkt.com. Back three or four, who are the players to watch for Wolves?