Wolves vs Sunderland – News and Probable Lineups

Sunderland aims to secure a spot in the top half of the Premier League standings while pushing for European qualification as they head to Molineux to confront Wolverhampton Wanderers, who have already been relegated, on Saturday afternoon.

Having won the previous encounter 2-0 at the Stadium of Light in October, the Black Cats are eager to achieve their first league double over the Old Gold since the 1949-50 season.

Match overview

Wolves are eagerly anticipating the conclusion of the 2025-26 season, with Rob Edwards’ squad now playing for pride after their relegation to the Championship was confirmed earlier this month.

After securing a 2-1 victory against reigning Premier League champions Liverpool at Molineux and a 2-2 draw with Brentford in March, the Old Gold have endured three consecutive defeats against teams threatened by relegation: West Ham, Leeds, and Tottenham, losing 8-0 on aggregate, including a 1-0 setback at home to Tottenham last weekend.

Currently, Wolves have the fewest goals in the Premier League this season, scoring only 24, and have yet to find the net in a league-high 18 of their 34 matches; the last team to fail to score in more games was Norwich City during the 2021-22 season (22 matches).

Under the guidance of Edwards, Wolves have gathered sufficient points to evade Derby County’s undesirable record of 11 points from the 2007-08 season, which stands as the lowest in Premier League history. They are now aiming to surpass the managerless Burnley at the bottom of the table, with only three points separating Wolves from the Clarets in 19th place.

As they approach Saturday’s match, Wolves have lost all four of their Premier League fixtures against promoted teams this season, but they can find solace in their impressive seven-home league game unbeaten streak against Sunderland (W3 D4).

Sunderland strives to overcome the disappointment of their heavy 5-0 defeat at home to Nottingham Forest last week, marking their first home league loss by five or more goals since a 6-1 defeat to Birmingham City back in April 1958.

Four of those goals were given up in the first 37 minutes of a match that surprised everyone in the Premier League. A “painful” Regis Le Bris has cautioned his Black Cats squad that “if you lower your standards by just 10%, your opponent can exploit it.”

Even though this result reflects their fourth home defeat in five games, and they have dropped to 12th place in the standings, Sunderland remains in contention for European qualification, sitting only three points behind Bournemouth in seventh place with four matches left to play.

As Sunderland heads to Molineux this weekend, they have conceded nine goals in their last two league fixtures, the defeat against Forest following a high-scoring 4-3 loss to Aston Villa. Remarkably, the Black Cats have only once allowed at least four goals in three consecutive league games, which occurred between September and October in 1928.

In recent contests, however, the Wearside side has generally fared well against Wolves, as they have kept a clean sheet in their last four league encounters dating back to April 2012, including two successive wins by a cumulative score of 5-0.

Team News

Wolves will be missing injured players Sam Johnstone (shoulder) and Enso Gonzalez (knee), while Ladislav Krejci’s neck injury will be evaluated ahead of the match.

Yerson Mosquera is back in contention after completing a two-match suspension and is expected to rejoin a three-man defense alongside Santiago Bueno and Toto Gomes.

Tolu Arokodare and Hwang Hee-Chan will both be eager to secure a place in the starting XI, although Edwards might choose to position Mateus Mane with either Jean-Ricner Bellegarde or Rodrigo Gomes supporting central striker Adam Armstrong.

For Sunderland, Romaine Mundle (hamstring) remains sidelined, but Bertrand Traore (knee), Jocelin Ta Bi (ankle), and Nilson Angulo (unspecified) might rejoin the matchday squad this weekend or next.

Trai Hume could be replaced at left-back by Reinildo Mandava, and Chemsdine Talbi is an option to fill in for Chris Rigg on the right side. Nonetheless, the midfield trio of Granit Xhaka, Noah Sadiki, and Habib Diarra is expected to stay the same.

Wilson Isidor has played more matches in the Premier League than anyone else without finishing 90 minutes in any of his 29 appearances. The French attacker might be offered his 12th start of the season this weekend, but Le Bris is likely to stick with Brian Brobbey up top.

Wolverhampton Wanderers probable starting XI:

Sa; Mosquera, S. Bueno, Toti; Lima, J. Gomes, Andre, H. Bueno; Mane, Bellegarde; Armstrong

Sunderland probable starting XI:

Roefs; Mukiele, Ballard, Alderete, Reinildo; Xhaka, Sadiki; Talbi, Diarra, Le Fee; Brobbey

Given the defensive vulnerabilities displayed by both Wolves and Sunderland in recent weeks, it is anticipated that both sides may find the back of the net this weekend. However, Sunderland is still viewed as the favorites, with enough quality in their lineup to secure three crucial points to sustain their top-seven ambitions.