Wolves star simply must start against Brentford to put an end to crucial Gary O’Neil problem
Wolves travel to Brentford on Saturday aiming to finally pick up their first victory of the Premier League season.
It is no secret that Wolves’ form has been diabolical. Since March 10, even Championship side Burnley have picked up more Premier League points than Wolves.
However, so far in this campaign, the club have been slightly unfortunate. Gary O’Neil’s side have played well in plenty of matches but have simply not reaped the rewards that the performance deserved.
Now, going into Saturday’s game, it is a chance for Wolves to finally prove that they will not be in a relegation battle this season as they face Brentford.
However, if O’Neil wants to win the game, he must bring back one forgotten squad player to solve one of Wolves’ most pressing issues.
Wolves aren’t creating enough chances in the Premier League
While Wolves’ defensive struggles are no doubt a worry, O’Neil’s side simply hasn’t created enough chances to help put the games to bed.
According to Fbref, the Old Gold have only created 5.5xG this season, with only Ipswich Town and Leicester City producing a worse record.
In addition to this, they also have the joint worst xAG at 4.0, with only Leicester City again only lower.
Much of this is due to the service the attackers are receiving. Wolves are scoring goals this season, proving that players like Matheus Cunha haven’t lost their goalscoring touch, however, since the departure of Pedro Neto, no one has stepped up on the creative role.
Per 90 minutes, O’Neil’s side are only producing 17.17 shot-creating actions, the third-lowest in the Premier League. However, there is one man who could help solve this issue once and for all.
Pablo Sarabia needs to be back in the Wolves starting XI
While Pablo Sarabia won’t be every Wolves fan’s first name on the team sheet, last season, he played a vital role in the starting XI.
Over the past year, Sarabia has proved that he is still extremely creative on the field. On average, he is producing an xAG of 0.25 per 90 minutes as well as 4.38 shot-creating actions.
This helped the winger pick up seven Premier League assists last season in just 30 games.
With O’Neil opting to now play out from the back at Wolves, this somewhat slower approach would arguably suit Sarabia more and help him be more creative on the field.
Yet, this season, not only has his minutes mainly come in the Carabao Cup, but his late Premier League appearance came in the 6-2 defeat to Chelsea in August.
