The Breakdown | Brighton vs Wolves
Wolves return to Premier League football for the first time in 2024 on Monday evening as Gary O’Neil’s side head to the south coast to take on Brighton & Hove Albion.
The spirits are currently high in the Wolves camp after the side extended their unbeaten run to five matches, which included booking their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup with a replay victory over Brentford – setting up a mouth-watering Black Country derby with West Bromwich Albion. Although many eyes from an Old Gold persuasion will already be on next Sunday’s cup clash, Wolves have an important Premier League clash to come first on Monday night, against a Brighton team which have been a thorn in their side in recent seasons. O’Neil will be missing some key players for the visit to the Amex, with Rayan Ait-Nouri, Boubacar Traore and Hee Chan Hwang away on international duty, while Joao Gomes is serving the second match of his three-game ban following his FA Cup red card against Brentford. However, the return of Mario Lemina from compassionate leave and Pedro Neto coming through almost 60 minutes unharmed on Tuesday night will give the visitors a boost.
Brighton are preparing for their first Premier League outing following their warm weather training camp in Dubai last week, and it was a welcome break for Roberto De Zerbi’s side as it gave a chance for players to get some rest as well as try to recover from various bumps, bruises and injuries after the Amex’s treatment table was beginning to get a lot busier following the Christmas period. Experienced defender Joel Veltman is expected to be out until mid-February with a knee injury, while Solly March was back in light training in Dubai after a ? injury but remains some way off match fitness. Tariq Lamptey (thigh), Julio Enciso (knee) and Ansu Fati (thigh) are all expected to be out
until February, while Simon Adingra and Karou Mitoma are on international duty, but both also sustained injuries which have delayed their appearances at AFCON and the Asian Cup respectively. Brazilian defender Igor missed the win against Stoke City after picking up a knock, but he should be fit for Monday night, as should Adam Webster, after he returned from injury in the second half of the FA Cup clash.
