On Thursday evening, Premier League Wolves travel to Armenia to face Pyunik in the first leg of the Europa League third qualifying round.
Pyunik have already had to play two rounds to get to this point of the competition, beating Shkupi of Macedonia and in the last round Jablonec from the Czech Republic. The ties saw the home side remain unbeaten, while they also scored at least twice in three of the matches.
Although they have a mixed recent record in the competition, they have lost just once in seven games. That record is under intense threat from the Premier League visitors, who have once again improved their squad this summer.
Pyunik have a strong recent home record in the Europa League, as they are unbeaten on home soil in the competition in five games dating back to last season, winning three times and drawing twice.
Wolves returned to European competition in the last round against Crusaders, their first action in continental football since 1981. The team from Midlands dispatched team from Northern Ireland 6-1 on aggregate.
Patrick Cutrone joins his new teammates in training as Wolves prepare for a busy week of @EuropaLeague and @premierleague action. ⚽️🎥 pic.twitter.com/ElHa7Cu8NK— Wolves (@Wolves) August 5, 2019
Patrick Cutrone joins his new teammates in training as Wolves prepare for a busy week of @EuropaLeague and @premierleague action. ⚽️🎥 pic.twitter.com/ElHa7Cu8NK
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side had too much quality for Crusaders and will be highly confident of seeing off the threat of their Armenia opponents over two legs.
Although this season is the first time the Midlands team have featured in Europe for 38 years, they have a stellar record in this competition in its two various guises, winning 15 of their last 22 games.
The visitors will be highly disappointed not to continue that good run of form in this tie. One factor that may come into to play in this tie is that Wolves kick-off their Premier League campaign with a visit to Leicester on Sunday, so they may select a slightly weakened team for this clash.
Whatever team Wolves fields, Forebet predicts that the visitors will record a victory in a high-scoring clash.