Wolves v Albion preview: Derby delight would really lift the mood at Molineux

Five matches without a win in the Premier League; 11 without a clean sheet; conceding first eight matches in a row – simply put, Wolves must beat Albion.

The sheer importance of this fixture has long been established, but more than bragging rights are at stake.

We all know the Baggies’ predicament, but there is also a huge onus on Nuno’s 14th-placed side picking up three vital points and making sure they stay away from danger. Anything else is almost unfathomable.

This will be the first derby for all of the Wolves camp, as it is for all of Sam Allardyce’s squad, but Nuno’s men will be well aware of what is at stake tomorrow afternoon.

Losing would plunge an already difficult campaign – injuries finally catching up with them and firmly taking a hold – into panic stations.

A win, meanwhile, could provide a massive boost in confidence. These games can make players.

If you score in a victory over Albion, you will always be remembered fondly. And that train of thought is worth bearing in mind when it comes to Fabio Silva.

The club-record £35million signing has been thrust into the limelight in the wake of Raul Jimenez’s injury and, of course, has struggled.

This level of game time in the top flight has arrived earlier than he or anybody else would have anticipated, and he has come in for criticism after some underwhelming performances in recent weeks.

Some feel he should be taken out of the firing line, with the eager-to-impress Patrick Cutrone coming into the starting line-up.

But what if Silva got the winner as Wolves look to avenge that dark day back in 2012?

After all, the 18-year-old has still been getting into goalscoring positions. His fortunes could change completely, though Cutrone may be seen as the better option by a fair few at the moment.

Everybody is keeping their fingers crossed over Adama Traore being back fit and ready.

His presence was missed against Everton and you get the feeling he could be the difference-maker against the lowly Baggies.

Question marks also remain over the fitness of Willy Boly, Daniel Podence and Fernando Marcal – but, ultimately, Wolves must improve at both ends of the pitch.

The alarming knack of conceding soft goals has to stop alongside the obvious need to start scoring more. It begs the question, will they revert to three at the back or stick with the four?

On the situation going into this fierce encounter, skipper Conor Coady said: “If we look too much into it, we’ll get side-tracked from what we’re really looking for, which is an improvement from ourselves.

“You’ve seen all season, we’ve been trying to evolve, finding new ways of playing, so it’s important we don’t go away from that, but also take in the feeling the supporters have about the game because we know how big it is.

“We’re trying to listen to new ideas from our manager. We’re trying to get better every day in training, and it takes time.

“When you look at playing a different way, I think people think it comes easy, but we had a certain way of playing for three or four years, and we knew it like the back of our hand.

“In terms of putting our finger on the last couple of weeks, it’s hard because you come up against fantastic teams who try to beat you and over the last few weeks we’ve not been good enough to come away with results and we’ve got to make that better. It’s important we start in what is a huge game.”

Wolves did beat Crystal Palace 1-0 in the FA Cup last week – setting up a remarkable trip to Chorley, another must-win game – but you can definitely put it down as a slump in the league.

Coady, though, feels there are positives to take from that five-match winless run.

“I think there’s been huge positives in all the games, I’ll be honest,” he said. “We’ve had an awful lot of young players playing, who have done fantastically well.

“We train with them every day and they’re improving every day, and to see them come into the team and play the way they have has been really good, but it’s up to us to improve and get better.

“It’s not just the Everton game, where we dominated for large spells, because we switched off and came away with no points. That’s the biggest thing we’ve got to look at because we’ve got to be picking up points as soon as possible.”

There is no getting away from the fact that Wolves are in a tough spot.

Following back-to-back seventh-placed finishes, there is frustration among fans as to how this term has gone thus far and, you have to believe, frustration in the camp as well.

But Coady insists belief among the squad remains strong – and will always do so.

That has to be the mentality as well. If even the slightest bit of doubt creeps in for Wolves, Albion – despite being 19th and yet to win under Allardyce – will likely take advantage.

Wolves’ quality should shine through provided they treat this in the right way.

“That will never be in question with our team and our football club. We haven’t become a bad team overnight; we’ve been in the Premier League for three years and we’re trying to improve,” added Coady. “We’ve had to improve and we’re trying to do it a different way, by listening to our manager. I mention him all the time and the ideas he has are fantastic, so we listen to him every day to try and get better.

“Every day there’s a belief in our heads that we can go into the next game and get a win, and that will never change.”

Memory Lane May 8, 2011

Steven Fletcher was the Wolves hero in a key win in their fight for survival.

Fletcher netted twice and also set up Adlene Guedioura to score before Peter Odemwingie reduced the deficit from the penalty spot.

Key battle: Ruben Neves v Jake Livermore

The Wolves midfield maestro is starting to tick again and impressed against Crystal Palace in the recent FA Cup triumph and was the star performer in Tuesday night’s defeat at home to Everton.

If Neves gets plenty of time and space then we will see a constant supply of ball going out to Wolves’ wide men Pedro Neto and Adama Traroe which will keep Albion on the backfoot.

Trying to ensure Neves is knocked out of his stride will be Albion’s midfield enforcer Livermore.

It’s fair to say the former England man has not hit the heights he would have wanted this season having been a key performer during Albion’s promotion-winning campaign.

He will be determined to make his presence felt and is the sort of character that will be up for a derby day battle.

Line-up

Wolves (4-3-3): Patricio; Semedo, Coady, Saiss, Ait-Nouri; Neves, Dendoncker, Moutinho; Traore, Silva, Neto. Subs: Ruddy (gk), Hoever, Kilman, Richards, Otasowie, Gibbs-White, Vitinha, Corbeanu, Cutrone

Joe Edwards’ prediction

Wolves win