{"id":639170,"date":"2024-04-29T09:33:19","date_gmt":"2024-04-29T13:33:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/?p=639170"},"modified":"2024-04-29T09:33:19","modified_gmt":"2024-04-29T13:33:19","slug":"five-things-learnt-wolverhampton-wanderers-luton-town","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2024\/04\/29\/five-things-learnt-wolverhampton-wanderers-luton-town\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Things We Learnt From Wolverhampton Wanderers Beating Luton Town"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Wolverhampton Wanderers won 2-1 at Molineux to Luton\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Town,<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> on April 27. This result ended their seven-game winless run in all competitions. Here are the five things that we learnt from their important victory.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[tgdcta items=&#8221;1&#8243; id=&#8221;180457&#8243;]<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Five Things Learnt From Wolverhampton Wanderers Beating Luton Town<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Gary O\u2019Neil\u2019s Consistent Altering of Formations<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Throughout<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0the course of<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> this season, Wolves have drastically altered their starting lineup. <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Against Luton, Gary\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">O\u2019Neil<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> transitioned back to a 4-1-4-1; this formation <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">was played<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0against Bournemouth in the last game, but the last time Wolves lined up this way before their defeat against Bournemouth was four matches ago\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">away<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0to Burnley.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The gaffer on an important win \ud83d\udcac<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Wolves (@Wolves) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Wolves\/status\/1784303501843038543?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 27, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">In this formation, Cunha returned to the starting lineup,\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">where he completed<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0the most dribbles in the match. He also gained an assist for Hee-Chan\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Hwang\u2019s<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0opener. His last\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">full<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0start came against Nottingham Forest, where he scored a brace in a 2-2 draw.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Boubacar Traore also started in the defensive midfield position. His last start came against Arsenal in a 2-0 defeat. His last start before that also came against Arsenal at the Emirates in early December.\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">This<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0was only his fifth start of the season.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Poor Defensive Record<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Despite this win, Wolverhampton Wanderers still have a poor defensive record. A Morris goal in the\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">80th minute cancelled any hope for a Wolverhampton Wanderers clean sheet. He has only kept four clean sheets all season, paling in comparison <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">to the 11 that Jose Sa kept last <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">season<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0where he had the sixth most clean sheets in the league.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2024\/04\/18\/manchester-city-rayan-ait-nouri-wolves\/\" target=\"_self\"><strong>Read More : <\/strong>Manchester City Eyeing Summer Move For \u2018Phenomenal\u2019 Wolves Star<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The last time that Wolverhampton Wanderers kept a clean sheet in the league came back in February in a 1-0 home win against now-relegated Sheffield United. Sa and the Wolves defence have only kept two clean sheets so far this calendar year, with the other being a goalless draw away to Brighton.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Wolverhampton\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Wanderers\u2019<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0final three games of the season are Manchester City away, Crystal Palace at home and Liverpool away in\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">what will be<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0Jurgen\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Klopp\u2019s<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0last game for Liverpool. It would be hard to see\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">O\u2019Neil\u2019s<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0side gain any clean sheets for the remainder of the season<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, however<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, it\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">wouldn&#8217;t<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0be surprising to see them pick up points.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Wolves Significantly Better in First Half<\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Wolverhampton Wanderers\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">once<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0again were more clinical in the first half, with Hee-Chan Hwang scoring the opener 40<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u2019\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">minutes into the match. In this half, Wolves dominated possession (61%), something <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">which<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0they\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">haven&#8217;t<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> done in recent matches, and had seven shots to <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Luton\u2019s<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0five. Out of these seven shots, three were on target\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">including<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0the goal.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">In this half, Wolverhampton Wanderers made 326 total passes, which is 39 more than in the second half. In addition to this, they also had more touches inside the opposition box and the opposition half. They also won more ground <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">duels<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> and aerial duels and had more successful dribbles than in the second half.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Five of Wolverhampton\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Wanderers\u2019<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0last eight goals conceded have come in the second half, with their loss to Bournemouth being the only match in the past two\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">matches<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0in the past two months.\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">In doing so,<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> this shows how much more clinical Wolves are in the first half and how much less dominant they are in the second half.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Still Conceding Most Shots On\u00a0Target<\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Despite this win, Wolverhampton Wanderers\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">are still conceding<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0more shots on target than their opposition.\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Against Luton, who had conceded ten goals in two matches before this match<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, the West Midlands side still <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">couldn&#8217;t<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0produce more shots on target<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">This<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0has been a running theme in most of their matches. Against Bournemouth, they conceded six shots on target to their four. Against Arsenal, they conceded nine shots on\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">target;<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0three times the amount that Wolves had in the match. Even against relegation-battling Forest, they conceded nine shots on target to the four shots Wolves\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">were able to<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0produce. This was also the case against Burnley, Aston Villa and even Coventry City in the FA Cup, who had more than double the amount of shots on target compared to\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">O\u2019Neil\u2019s<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0side. Only their 2-1 loss to West Ham was an anomaly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Wolves have only had more shots on target than their opposition in just one of their last nine games in all competitions. Even in their wins against Fulham and Luton, they\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">were dominated<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0by shots on target. In doing so, it shows how a goal-shy Wolves<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u2019\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">must be more clinical with their shots to stand a greater chance of qualifying for Europe next\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">season<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0as they were so close to doing so this\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">season<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Jose Sa is Pivotal in Goal<\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Following on from the last point, suffering more shots on target requires the goalkeeper to be on his best form,<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0fortunately<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0for\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Wolves<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0they have Portuguese international Jose Sa.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">As stated above, <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Wolves have only had more shots on target than their opposition in just one of their last nine games in all competitions. Even in their wins against Fulham and Luton, they\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">were dominated<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0by shots on target.\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Against Arsenal and Bournemouth combined, Wolves conceded 42 shots\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">with<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> fifteen\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">on target.<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> However, Sa, who has started 32 Premier League matches this season, has played a <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">major<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0role in their defence.\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">This<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0was mostly evident last season, as despite being in a relegation battle in the early stages of last season, Sa, under Bruno Lage and Julen Lopetegui, kept eleven clean sheets.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Sa and his defence have only kept two clean sheets so far this calendar year, with the other being a goalless draw away to Brighton. <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">However<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, if it\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">wasn&#8217;t<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0for him<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, it could be a lot worse.<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">That\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">being said<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, Luton\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">didn&#8217;t<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0have any clear-cut chances apart from\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Morris\u2019<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0goal<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, however<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, this has been a consistent occurrence in\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">the majority<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0of their recent matches. Wolves have been a great side to watch this season, and Sa plays a\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">very<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0pivotal role in maintaining a\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">strong<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0defensive record.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[tgdcta items=&#8221;1&#8243; id=&#8221;180457&#8243;]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wolverhampton Wanderers won 2-1 at Molineux to Luton\u00a0Town, on April 27. This result ended their seven-game winless run in all competitions. Here are the five things that we learnt from their important victory. [tgdcta items=&#8221;1&#8243; id=&#8221;180457&#8243;] Five Things Learnt From Wolverhampton Wanderers Beating Luton Town Gary O\u2019Neil\u2019s Consistent Altering of Formations Throughout\u00a0the course of this [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5071,"featured_media":634139,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2510,2,9838,3],"tags":[6341,8747],"class_list":["post-639170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wolves","category-featured","category-luton-town","category-premier-league","tag-gary-oneil","tag-jose-sa"],"modified_by":"Declan Wiseman, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5071"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=639170"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639170\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/634139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=639170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=639170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=639170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}