Wolves v Fulham - Liam Keen and Nathan Judah preview
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00:00Hello, I'm Nathan Judah, I'm here with, what was the problem, Mr Ollie? Oh no, he's gone,
00:13he's gone, it's Kino's back, Kino's back from his stag do.
00:16Sorry guys, sorry guys.
00:17You might be a bit paler than normal.
00:19I feel good mate, honestly, I feel 100%. It wasn't my stag do by the way, it was a friend
00:25of mine, I don't want you to think you're not going to be invited, because I'll send
00:27you pictures when it comes round.
00:29I'll look forward to them.
00:30I just heard from Vitor, again, it's like we see him every other day now, ahead of the
00:35big game, Fulham, tomorrow night, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Mullen U, 7.45pm?
00:40I couldn't tell you mate, I'm sorry, I forgot.
00:43I'm not joking, I'm not joking, three days away, he's shattered a job and he doesn't
00:46care anymore, it's absolutely unbelievable.
00:48It could be any time, it could be midday kick off, I want to know.
00:51Can I ask you about what's just happened or are you going to be in a bit of a state to
00:53tell me?
00:54So which club are we covering, I don't know where I am.
00:56No, yes, ask me whatever you want, I'll give my best shot.
00:59OK, great stuff.
01:00Injuries, ahead of the game?
01:02Yes, not a major surprise really, Rodrigo, which I did like your tweet the other day
01:06by the way, pelvis inflammation, that tweet went down well.
01:10Why, what are you trying to say?
01:13Shut up.
01:14So he's unavailable, huang and aggravated both with hamstrings broken.
01:17I mean the actual thing is he's got irritation on his pubic bone, but I thought I'd better
01:20not to use that one.
01:21Is that actually what you're saying?
01:22Yes.
01:23I don't know where to go with that.
01:24No you can't.
01:25I could have said a few things there.
01:28So yes, the other two with hamstrings not available, Guedes was a surprise for Bournemouth,
01:33wasn't available, carrying a sort of ongoing knee issue.
01:37And then the slight update to that is that he doesn't expect him also to be available
01:40for tomorrow, but that he's had an MRI scan on that, so he's got a bit of pain in his
01:45knee, trying to sort of, I suppose, diagnose, figure out what the exact issue is.
01:48Everybody worries when you hear MRI.
01:50Yeah, I think it seems like it's minor, I think it's important to mention, but that
01:55all four of them are not expected to be available for tomorrow.
01:59Yeah, look, in terms of selection, we saw Jorgen Strand-Larsen come on at half-time
02:04in the 1-0 win against Bournemouth, but you look at that team, and you look at Monezzi,
02:09and you look at Bellegarde, you look at Strand-Larsen, and one of them's probably going to miss out
02:12tomorrow night.
02:13He said it's a good problem to have, and it is, isn't it really?
02:17Yeah, he's happy to have a selection headache, as the cliche goes.
02:20But Larsen's had a little bit of stick from a few sections.
02:24I like him, I think he brings a good focal point to this team.
02:28His goal-scoring record this season has been pretty decent, albeit with the injury, and
02:33just before that injury, obviously, he was a little bit out of form.
02:37But I think it's a decent return so far, I think he's got more to offer, and I think
02:40if he can get himself back in the right frame of mind, the right headspace, he could be
02:44a really important player between now and the end of the season.
02:47And I do see him being a big option for tomorrow's game.
02:49I mean, asking Vito about it, he did say, look, I'm happy to have these headaches, first
02:54of all.
02:55But also, we've got a player now back available, an out-and-out number nine, who is ready and
03:00fit and can play.
03:01So that, for me, is probably the big selection dilemma that he has.
03:04Do you put him straight back in, or do you keep Manezzi where he is in that sort of false
03:08nine, makeshift number nine position?
03:09And Vito said, you know, after the win on Saturday, that he was ready to go, he wanted
03:14to start the game.
03:15But we all expected, and he did, that he wanted to hold him back, because, you know, something
03:19from a hamstring injury, and then straight into a 90 minutes of football, 70 minutes
03:22of football, it's a risk.
03:23Yeah, it'll be interesting to see that one.
03:25In terms of Fulham, there's a lot of respect there.
03:27I mean, Fulham have had an excellent season, albeit losing to Crystal Palace at the weekend,
03:312-0.
03:32It's still going to be a tough test, though, isn't it?
03:33Oh, absolutely, yeah.
03:34Look, Palace is, it's an interesting one, because they sort of pop up with the odd win
03:38here and there.
03:39So teams can lose to Crystal Palace.
03:41It doesn't mean that Fulham are a bad side all of a sudden.
03:43They've got some very good players, some that we know well, of course.
03:46I would expect Adama and Rao probably to play as well, probably to start this game, which
03:49would be very interesting.
03:51Hopefully they don't link up like they have done in the Wolves' show plenty of times.
03:54But yeah, I think if you, I mean, they've dropped down to 10th now, but it's still been
03:58a pretty decent season for this Fulham side.
04:01I think Marc Gasol was a decent coach as well.
04:03Hey!
04:04Crikey, that was loud.
04:06My head's spinning.
04:09And they pose a threat.
04:10But at the same time, and I think this is really important, you can't look at them as
04:15insurmountable.
04:16No, absolutely not.
04:17Similar to Bournemouth.
04:18I mean, Bournemouth have had a fantastic season.
04:20They're a really good side.
04:21But Wolves have got the quality to beat any Premier League side and went there and got
04:24a victory.
04:25This is certainly within Wolves' wheelhouse to get another win here.
04:29And my God, what a win would do, back-to-back, asking Vito about it, and look, he's pretty
04:35keen to stress that they've got a long way to go still, which I think is a smart way
04:38to put it.
04:39But if they can pick up a win tomorrow, I mean, they really are starting to look in
04:43the right direction.
04:44Now, there is a bit of a gap, albeit the gap below them is a little bit smaller, but five
04:47points now is enough to start thinking more optimistic, add anything on top of that, and
04:52I think Wolves are in a really good place.
04:53They've got a really, really important run of fixtures to come.
04:56Yeah, that five points, if that starts being eight points and pushing up towards double
05:00figures, then Wolves are in a great spot.
05:02You can all go on it, mate.
05:03You have our own stoke, do you?
05:04Absolutely.
05:05Get some drinks down.
05:06Look, and the chance to do the double over Fulham as well, it was one of the best results
05:09in the season away from home earlier on.
05:11I mean, that feels like a long time ago now.
05:13Were you there for that?
05:14I don't deserve that.
05:15You missed it for that one, were you?
05:16I don't deserve that.
05:18You're missing like three in a row.
05:19Oh, dear.
05:20One for Wrestlemania, maybe.
05:21Oh, God.
05:22That's a weird guy.
05:23I don't even know what that means.
05:24Don't be rude.
05:25Yeah, there you go.
05:26I knew that guy.
05:27Yeah, look, that feels like a long, long time ago.
05:28It was a real straining moment.
05:29I mean, that was the centre-back days, wasn't it?
05:30Yeah.
05:31Just after that, I was Bournemouth at home, 4-2 loss.
05:32Good days.
05:33So, great days.
05:34Yeah, I don't think you can read a lot into that.
05:35I think Wolves seem to feel like they're a different beast these days, not just in the
05:46way that they are consistently performing, but also the way that Pereira sets them up.
05:51They're a very different side to what they were back in, was that in mid-November?
05:55Yeah, a long time ago.
05:56Mid-November.
05:57But, look, if you do the double over this side, which I don't like, but still, I think,
06:00you know, give Fulham a lot of credit.
06:02I think they're a decent side.
06:03It'll be a really, really important three points.
06:05I mean, this Wolves team are trending in the right direction, but you have to be cautiously
06:10optimistic without being too overboard.
06:12Give me the starting 11 tomorrow night, baby.
06:14Well, give it a go.
06:16I think it's unchanged.
06:18I agree.
06:19Okay, end the video there.
06:21I think the one big decision, as I've already sort of alluded to, is Larssen.
06:24If you bring Larssen in and you drop Manezzi, I mean, you could drop Manezzi back into midfield,
06:28but I do think Xhau Gomez and Andre will keep their place.
06:30Unless there's a tightness there.
06:32The players were absolutely shattered after that game, so it's about freshening it up
06:36as well, but at the same time, if they're good to go, do you think you're going to keep
06:39faith with that?
06:40I think so.
06:41And going off what Vitor said in previous weeks, when they had three games in a week,
06:45he said that quite often, and in his experience, you can get the players up and ready for the
06:49second game, but the third game is when there's some problems.
06:52So I think he'll be looking at this game tomorrow night at home in particular, which I think
06:57is important, against a Fulham team that are beatable, albeit a decent side, and I think
07:01it's a really big opportunity for Wolves.
07:03The FA Cup, as much as we would love them to get through, especially you and the barbecue,
07:07is a really important game as well.
07:09Wolves' priority has to be to stay in the league, and I think he'll look to that as
07:12being the third game in the week, and the chance to still play a good side, but to make
07:16changes.
07:17So I think he'll be trying to field the strongest possible team tomorrow with, I would say,
07:23zero changes, or the very least, minimal.
07:25Yeah, at the same time, if they can win again tomorrow night, then they can really go full
07:31tilt in this FA Cup, because you're looking at potentially one more big win, or one more
07:35big weekend, and a turning point weekend, and they're kind of done.
07:37Exactly, yeah, without risking the players with injuries, of course, but I think regardless
07:41of what happens tomorrow night, I think he'll want to do that in the FA Cup anyway, but
07:45it's how many changes he's forced into making due to players being in the red zone, and
07:48tiredness, etc.
07:49The only thing I would say about that, about starting that same team again, is Manetti
07:54looks a lot better going back to winning it, rather than playing in that almost front-front
07:58three.
07:59So, yeah, it might be a toss-up a coin for me, but I do think one change, if any.
08:03Yeah, no, I agree.
08:04I'd love to watch Manetti on Saturday.
08:06I was there.
08:07Andre, mate.
08:08Unbelievable, wasn't he?
08:09Oh mate, he was top.
08:10I can't.
08:11He wasn't mid.
08:12No, no, no mid, Tom.
08:13You're mid.
08:14There's no need for that.
08:15You're below that.
08:16I haven't got a bad word to say, the best game I've seen Andre play for a long time.
08:21Give me the score.
08:23By the way, I'm putting a lot of money on this score, because I know it's going to happen.
08:27Okay, well I know it's going to happen, but I'm not putting any money on it, because money's
08:30all in the bars in football.
08:32I will go with...
08:34And a few clubs as well.
08:371-1.
08:39Okay, okay.
08:41This is going to happen.
08:43You heard it here first.
08:44Wolverhampton Wanderers 1, Fulham 0.
08:47I've got shivers.
08:49For all the build-up of this one, make sure you log on to expressthestar.
08:55We're the ones.