Adrian Clarke looks at key tactical points and players who can be decisive in Matchweek 10.
Raul Jimenez (WOL)
Wolverhampton Wanderers head coach Bruno Lage has brought out the creative side in fit-again striker Jimenez.
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Following his return from a fractured skull suffered last November, Jimenez has been encouraged to drop off the front and play between the lines on a more frequent basis.
Largely staying central and operating between the width of the two penalty boxes, Jimenez has been incredibly effective at laying on chances for team-mates.
Prior to his injury, Jimenez was averaging a key pass every 164.8 minutes in 2020/21.
However, during the current campaign he is creating an opportunity for Wolves every 36.1 minutes.
Indeed, he has created four times as many chances from open play this term as he did at this stage last season, and has produced five successful through-balls compared with zero.
One of those was an assist for Hwang Hee-chan's first goal in a 2-1 win over Newcastle United before Jimenez set up another for his strike partner with a similar darting run and pass.
Jimenez's two assists in MW7
In Monday’s home match with Everton, you can expect to see the 30-year-old trying to replicate those situations from pockets of space between the midfield and attack.
Rusty in front of goal
Jimenez scored a sumptuous solo goal in a 2-0 win at Southampton in September, but that remains his only Premier League strike since his injury in November 2020.
He is averaging a similar number of chances compared with the early stages of last campaign, but his sharpness inside the area has not fully returned.
Jimenez goal v Southampton
In 10 starts last term, Jimenez had scored four goals from 2.43 Expected Goals (xG).
But after nine rounds of matches this season his one goal has come via an xG total of 2.05.
While he has not been as wasteful as team-mates Trincao and Adama Traore, who are both yet to score, the Mexico international has spurned chances that he was burying with ease before his extended layoff.
Creating lots of chances
Wolves are creating better-quality chances under Lage, competing with many of the division’s leading sides for xG.
But frustratingly the team’s finishing has let them down.
In open play alone, the stats suggest they should have scored 10.6 goals so far, but their actual figure stands at only five.
Most open-play xG MW1-9
| Club | xG | Goals |
| Liverpool | 18.7 | 21 |
|---|---|---|
| Man City | 16.4 | 16 |
| Chelsea | 12.3 | 16 |
| West Ham | 11.0 | 11 |
| Wolves | 10.6 | 5 |
Only Liverpool spurned more big chances in the first nine Matchweeks, with 17, than Wolves' 16.
And tellingly, the Reds had 74 more shots in total, outlining the high percentage of gilt-edged opportunities Lage’s men have been unable to profit from.
Danger-man Hwang
The one player Wolves want chances to fall to at the moment is in-form summer signing Hwang.
If you discount blocked shots, the South Korean boasts a 100 per cent conversion rate, finding the back of the net from all four of his attempts.
The nature of his calm finishing has been eye-catching since he arrived on loan from RB Leipzig, and it has been much needed for a Wolves side averaging only one goal per match.
If Hwang continues his form in front of goal and Jimenez rediscovers his, Wolves' attack will become much more formidable.
