Premier League: Leeds Are Ready for the Wolves

Leeds United vs Wolverhampton Wanderers

Elland Road is the place to be on Saturday afternoon when Leeds host Wolves in their Premier League season opener. The stadium will be packed to the rafters and the atmosphere will be electric.

It’s one of the most famous games in top-flight football, but it is a game many Whites’ fans feared would not be on the agenda this season when they went into the last day of the 2021/22 campaign staring relegation in the face. But a brilliant victory away to Brentford, coupled with a defeat for Burnley at home to Newcastle, preserved Leeds’ hard-earned top-flight status.

And now they enter the new campaign with renewed hope and it’s time for Jesse Marsch’s men to kick on.

Leeds’ opponents are sometimes a tough team to weigh up. Over the past three seasons the All Golds have played some scintillating football and won European recognition, but at times they have been too easy to beat. And the Premier League 2022 betting odds reflect just that, installing the Whites as favourites to win the game at SBOTOP odds of 2.23. 

Bruno Lage’s Wolves have had a decent pre-season and they will aim to win another top-half finish, needing a strong start to give them a foundation.  

Talking Points 

Now it’s down to Marsch and his players

After a patchy pre-season ‘Down Under’, Leeds put on a show last week to beat Serie B side Cagliari as Patrick Bamford made a comeback with two goals and Rodrigo scored a hat-trick. The Leeds attack, now without Raphinha, tore into the Italians and Bamford looked sharper as the game wore on.

This is the first season the Whites will start with Marsch at the helm and so, in effect, it’s the beginning of a new era. The American boss will do all he can to continually improve the quality and passion on the pitch after bringing a feel-good factor to Elland Road in the second half of the 2021/22 campaign.  

March has spent money well after the departure of Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips, bringing in midfield ace Marc Roca for £10m, winger Luis Sinisterra for £21m and creative midfielder Brenden Aaronson for £30m.

Right-back Rasmus Kristensen looks like he could be the signing of the summer arriving on an £11m deal from Red Bull Salzburg and showing, in pre-season, what a good attacking wing-back he can be.

Traore and Jimenez doubts for Wolves 

After a poor start to the 2021/22 campaign under Lage, Wolves went on an impressive run, hovering on the edge of the top four before falling away and finishing five points adrift of a Europa League place.

Lightning fast winger Adama Traore went on loan to Barcelona and thrived under Xavi and he could be a big player for Wolves this season. But he has featured little in pre-season and looks set to miss out on Saturday with a tight hamstring. Striker Raul Jimenez is unlikely to feature too. After recovering from a horrific head injury, the Mexican returned last season but struggled to recapture his best form and now he has a groin strain.  

There is better news for Lage in the pre-season form of 21-year-old defender Nathan Collins, signed for £20m from Burnley, and striker Hwang Hee-Chan is also in line for a start. Wolves’ pre-season ended with two 1-1 draws away to Farense and Sporting Lisbon and Collins in particular has been impressive.  

And Wolves are getting increasingly confident of keeping hold of their playmaker Ruben Neves. The Portuguese star has been on the radar of Manchester United all summer but if the Red Devils can land Barca’s Frenkie de Jong then Neves may stay at Molineux.

He shares an agent with United’s want-away star Cristiano Ronaldo and the middle man has more work to do to keep CR7 happy.

Neves should start on Saturday. 

History

The last 23 meetings between Leeds and Wolves have been well-contested, with the All Golds ahead by 11 wins to eight and there have been four draws.

Leeds had the better of the exchanges last season, winning 1-1 at Elland Road before earning a crucial three points in a five-goal thriller at Molineux in March. The Whites were two goals down at the break but roared back in the second half and Luke Ayling grabbed an injury-time winner. 

Wolves have finished seventh, 13^th and tenth in their three seasons since returning to the top flight while Leeds have finished tenth and 17^th. 

It’s nicely set up to be a fascinating opener. We’ll be back with the Premier League 2022 highlights on Saturday but now’s the time to make our pick.

Betting Tip

So with Leeds at 2.23, the draw at 3.11 and a Wolves win at 3.02 all three results are well in play.

The hosts will have a passionate crowd behind them and will push for all three points and they might just edge it, but 1-1 is the most likely scoreline at odds of 5.22.

 

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