Leeds United and Wolverhampton Wanderers will meet in the Premier League opening weekend 2022/23 Premier League action with many questions being faced by both sides after torrid seasons in 2021/22.
It wasn't a dreadful campaign for Wolves, but given how they have battled to get into Europe the past few years, Bruno Lage’s side do need to considerably improve this time around.
💬 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗲-𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻: "We've made incredible progress in the last six weeks. We’re going to see a better version of what I would like us to be on matchday." pic.twitter.com/DMf8vmLR6m— Leeds United (@LUFC) August 4, 2022
💬 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗲-𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻: "We've made incredible progress in the last six weeks. We’re going to see a better version of what I would like us to be on matchday." pic.twitter.com/DMf8vmLR6m
In the end, after a solid defensive year, Wolves finished all the way down in 10th for the season after previously easing into the top 10 in the last few year.
They club put together 15 wins that season and managed to finish above the likes of Aston Villa, Brentford and Newcastle United as a result.
However, with them finishing behind Brighton & Hove Albion and even seven points adrift of Manchester United in the Europa League spots, no Wolves fan ended the season happily.
As for Leeds, they were saved in the Premier League by the skin of their teeth when they managed to win only nine games and lose 18 across the season with them even letting go of the legendary figure of Marcelo Bielsa midway through the season.
In fact, only Norwich City conceded more goals than them with their 84 compared to Leeds' 79, and it put on record one of the worst defensive seasons in recent times.
With Jesse Marsch at the helm, they ended up finishing three points ahead of Burnley in the relegation fight after managing to beat Brentford on the final day of the league season.
Leeds are also still quite injury-ridden heading into this game here. Stuart Dallas is going to be out until early 2023 with his thigh injury, as Junior Firpo is not ready to play either, and neither is Luke Ayling.
Luis Fernando is nearing a return but not quite ready for action either, with Adam Forshaw and Cody Drameh both ruled out through injuries for a short while too.
Daniel James is also ruled out here with a suspension picked up in the last game of the season against Brentford, as star man Liam Cooper faces a late fitness test ahead of this one as well.
As for Wolves, they’re also in a pickle with their team selection, as Oliveira is still ruled out for pretty much the entire season after going through knee surgery, while Raul Jimenez is not going to play with a knee injury, so Hee-chan shall play up top instead.
Forebet predicts a win here for Wolves and for the game to see over 2.5 goals once more.