Wolves left-back George Elokobi has been backed to fill the void left by the suspended Stephen Ward against Manchester City tonight.

Elokobi is expected to replace Ward who was dismissed in the 2-0 Boxing Day defeat at Liverpool for two bookable offences.

Keeper Marcus Hahnemann believes Elokobi is more than capable of coming in for only his second start since October 31.

“George is great – he’s super-strong and we’ll be alright with George,” said Hahnemann.

“He’s already played well for us this season and he’s a good, strong, powerful defender, so we’re more than covered.”

But Hahnemann echoed the thoughts of the entire Wolves dressing room in his sympathy over the decision to send Ward off at Anfield.

“I thought it was really soft – it didn’t really look like a second booking,” said the keeper. “It was really disappointing because it changed the game. Then the referee booked the wrong player to start with and they sorted it out eventually.”

The result meant Wolves are 15th on 19 points at the halfway point and Hahnemann is satisfied with the team’s progress after three victories in five since the Birmingham defeat a month ago.

“We’re still 15th and that’s tasty, really nice, because a few weeks ago we were in the relegation zone and people were saying how bad we were and if we lost the Birmingham game, that was it,” he said. “It was a big game but it shows how important every match is. We picked up those three points at Spurs and it kind of jump-started everything.”