EFL Cup: Julen Lopetegui to Get a First Look of His New Club

Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Leeds United

Wolves are in dire need of a victory when Leeds visit town on Wednesday night.

This is going to be the first-ever EFL Cup matchup between these two teams, as Leeds defeated Barnsley 3-1 and Wolves won over Preston North End 2-1 in the previous round.

One of the main backdrops of this fixture is Julen Lopetegui, who was appointed recently as Wolves’ new head coach. He’ll be watching this match from afar to assess how he can improve his squad in the next few weeks.

Interim boss Steve Davis will continue to take charge for the hosts as they’ll try to put an end to their winless run – which is something that Leeds were successful at recently after going on a drought of their own last month.

Talking Points

Lopetegui has his work cut out for him at Wolves

Wolves have finally signed Julen Lopetegui after pursuing him for weeks following the departure of Bruno Lage. The two parties made an agreement last month, but Lopetegui had to delay his first day since he was taking care of his ill father.

The former Sevilla manager’s first match at the coaching helm is not until Boxing Day when Wolves take on Everton, but he’s expected to fly in and join his new side later this week.

Caretaker manager Steve Davis admitted that Wolves need to improve in all areas of the pitch, with the main focus on their frontline since they have the worst offencive record in the top three tiers of English football this season with only eight league goals scored thus far.

Midfielder Ruben Neves is their top scorer with four, while wingers Adama Traore and Daniel Podence have two goals each. But Hwang Hee-Chan has yet to score this term, while fellow strikers Raul Jimenez, Pedro Neto, and summer signing Sasa Kalajdzic have been bit by the injury bug.

Their backline is also a work in progress as they’ve conceded eight goals in their last three games. It doesn’t help either that right-back Nelson Semedo is going to sit this one out after seeing red against Brighton on Saturday.

Leeds suddenly gaining steam

Just a week after his clutch performance against Liverpool, Crysencio Summerville delivered once again in their win against Bournemouth.

The Whites were trailing 3-1 at home, but Liam Cooper, Sam Greenwood, and Summerville sparked the comeback to edge out the Cherries in a seven-goal thriller to make it back-to-back Premier League victories for the first time since March.

Leeds have risen to the 12^th spot in the standings as a result and they have a game in hand over all the teams who are below them at the table.

With Patrick Bamford, Luis Sinisterra, and Stuart Dallas all sidelined, Jesse Marsch will look to ride the hot hand of Crysencio Summerville, hoping that he can create new EFL Cup 2022 highlights on Wednesday.

Wilfried Gnonto is another option up front as he did a solid job after replacing Jack Harrison at halftime against Bournemouth. He was, in fact, the one who teed up Summerville’s winning goal.

History

Wednesday marks the 103^rd meeting between Leeds and Wolves across all competitions. Leeds are leading in their head-to-heads with 44 wins, whereas Wolves won 35 times along with 23 draws.

Leeds defeated Wolves in their first meeting this season during the opening matchday of the 2022-23 Premier League campaign.

The Whites found themselves down early at home as Daniel Podence scored after the first six minutes, but a 24^th-minute goal from Rodrigo Moreno and an own goal from Rayan Ait-Nouri in the second half ensured the win for Leeds.

Wolves have only won three times so far this season and those results came at the Molineux. Leeds have struggled on the road this term as well.

Don’t expect a clean sheet from this fixture since it wasn’t the case in their last three meetings.

Betting Tip

Leeds may have the advantage in terms of recent form, but the SBOTOP EFL Cup 2022 odds predict that it won’t be a walk in the park for them on Wednesday.

In fact, Wolves were given the edge to win at home at 2.18, while Leeds aren’t far behind at 2.81 in the 1X2 market. Overall, we feel that this can go either way, so we’re recommending a Draw 1X2 @ 3.25 after 90 minutes.

Since Leeds’ frontline are doing much better lately, they should manage to shush the enthusiastic Molineux crowd to advance to the fourth round of this tournament.

 

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