The Premier League season is coming to a close. The title has been won, a team has been relegated to the Championship, and several other teams are still fighting fighting to ensure that they dont join Norwich in the bottom three, fighting to ensure a UEFA Champions League spot, or fighting for a Europa League place. Wolverhampton Wanderers are one of those teams, as they are hoping to qualify for the Europa League for the second time in two seasons (which would be a huge accomplishment given the fact that prior to last season, the club had not competed in Europe in 39 years). They currently sit in 6th place with one game to go, but the gap between points and goal difference is so little that Wolves not only have to worry about winning their last match, but hope that Tottenham Hotspur drop points as well.
Wolves win over Crystal Palace helped them get the leg up over Spurs, especially since the North London club were so convincing in their 3-0 win over Leicester City the day prior. Wolves did not let that pressure them, and a routine 2-0 win allows them to be ahead of Spurs by one point, and on goal difference. It was a pretty expected win at the Molineux Stadium, with the loss putting Palace at seven consecutive losses, and only one win since the restart. This tactical analysis will look at how Palaces tactics were undone within the first 20 minutes, and show an analysis of why Wolves forward players were the star of the show.
Lineups
Nuno Espírito Santo set up the home side in their typical 3-4-3 formation with Rui Patrício in net and a back three of Leander Dendoncker, Conor Coady, and Willy Boly in front of him. Matt Doherty and Jonny acted as wing-backs whilst Rúben Neves and João Moutinho were set as the midfield two. Adama Traoré, Raúl Jiménez, and Daniel Podence made up the front three.
Roy Hodgson opted for a 4-4-2, with Joel Ward, Scott Dann, Mamadou Sakho, and Tyrick Mitchell as the back four in front of Vicente Guaita in the net. Andros Townsend, James McCarthy, James McArthur, and Jeffrey Schlupp made up the midfield bank of four, while Jordan Ayew and Wilfried Zaha lead the line-up top as a strikers duo.
Crystal Palace start with lots of possession (for once)
In the 22nd minute, Palace suffered an early blow, not by conceding, but by losing Sakho due to an injury. The defender suffered some sort of hamstring and/or knee injury and could not continue on. The difference in Palaces play was noticeable when he went off. Sakhos strengths are ball interception and ball retention (a statistic that may not be as important for defenders as it is attackers, but it helps with keeping/maintaining possession).
Before his taking off, Crystal Palace were winning the possession battle over Wolves, with 61% possession in the first 15 minutes vs Wolves 39%. After Sakho came off, Palaces possession plummeted, and for the rest of the match, their possession was either lower than Wolves or it was at equal at a 50% level.
