Wolverhampton Wanderers are gearing up for the first of 23 cup finals to save themselves from an unthinkable relegation.
The Premier League returns on Boxing Day and Wolves have the chance to claw back some ground on one of their immediate rivals, Everton. A victory at Goodison Park could lift Wolves up to 18th in the table, one point behind 17th-placed Everton.
Julen Lopetegui will realise his ambition of managing in the Premier League and the Spaniard is eager to get off the mark before reinforcements arrive in January. Brazilian forward Matheus Cunha is already waiting in the wings, but Wolves won’t be able to utilise him against Everton or Manchester United.
There are lots of important decisions for Lopetegui to make in terms of team selection. Will he opt for Raul Jimenez or Diego Costa in attack? Will Matheus Nunes return in midfield after his impressive cameo off the bench versus Gillingham? Surely Hwang Hee-chan merits a start?
What is less important for Lopetegui is the formation his team plays. Having played a 3-4-3 formation in Wolves’ final friendly against Cadiz, Lopetegui reverted to 4-3-3 for the 2-0 win over Gillingham on Tuesday.
On formations, Lopetegui said: “For me the system is not very important, the way to play is more important. What you are going to do with a back three, back five, back four, in the end you can do more or less the same things when you press or when you go out from the goalkeeper.
“It’s not key for me. We are going to use different systems but always having the same way to play and develop our style. The style is more important than the system. We will change little details in the system, but not our way (of playing).
“Sometimes journalists and even the players are thinking the system is key and the system can be flexible. The most important thing is you are going to develop inside this system.”
The roles of Lopetegui’s staff
The formation may not be that important to Lopetegui, but the warm up his players do before matches is. The Spaniard has brought two fitness coaches to Wolves who have been tasked with improving the physical level of the squad and preventing injuries.
Wolves have been plagued by injuries for the past two seasons so Oscar Caro and Borja de Alba have crucial roles to play. It was interesting to see that it was Caro and De Alba who led the warm up before the Gillingham game, not the coaches.
A large part of Tuesday’s warm up was done without the ball, with Caro leading drills focused on explosive movements and stretching. He also incorporated resistance band work on the pitch, which isn’t something Wolves’ players did under previous regimes.
Carlos Cachada was given the title of fitness coach during Bruno Lage’s reign as head coach, but he was actually in charge of defensive work. With two fitness-focused coaches, Lopetegui is hoping to minimise the time his players spend on the treatment table.
Around 25 minutes before kick-off, Wolves’ players performed a five-a-side passing drill inside a box. This particular drill is clearly favoured by the players having been a theme under Nuno Espirito Santo and Lage previously.
Caro then led the midfielders and forwards over to the edge of the box, where they performed some attacking drills to conclude the warm up. De Alba worked with central defenders Nathan Collins and Max Kilman on the halfway line.
Assistants Pablo Sanz, Juan Peinado and Edu Rubio watched on, whilst taking an interest in the warm up Gillingham’s players were doing in front of the North Bank.
There were some interesting things to note during the game too. It seemed to be Sanz taking the lead on set pieces. He jumped to his feet at each dead ball situation, with Lopetegui sometimes taking the backseat. Goalkeeping coach Tony Roberts has clearly stepped back from set piece duties after being put in charge of them by Lage.
Rubio was on the bench alongside Lopetegui and Sanz. He occasionally pointed things out to the fourth official which had presumably been spotted on the monitor inside the Wolves dugout.
Peinado, meanwhile, was seated in the press box alongside Wolves’ analysts and feeding information down to the bench from his vantage point. He was actually positioned in the seat ex-technical director Scott Sellars occupied briefly as he supported caretakers Steve Davis and James Collins before the World Cup break.
Lopetegui is finding room for Hodge
Youngster Joe Hodge has caught Lopetegui’s eye. Hodge initially impressed Lopetegui with his performance in the cup tie against Leeds United and he has backed it up in training under the Spaniard.
Hodge was given another start by Lopetegui in Tuesday’s match. He missed a gilt-edged chance to score his first Wolves goal before being sacrificed at half-time when Lopetegui changed shape.
That shouldn’t dent his confidence though. He was namechecked for a second time by Lopetegui on Monday and is clearly the youngster, other than left-back Hugo Bueno, who is at the forefront of the manager’s thinking.
“We have Hodgey,” Lopetegui said when discussing his young players. “He has played at a very high level with us in the friendlies.”
Hodge may find opportunities in the first team hard to come by given the numbers Wolves have in midfield, but the quiet and unassuming playmaker has clearly grabbed Lopetegui’s attention.
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