Coming up against the man who succeeded him at the South Coast, Gary O’Neil returns to former club Bournemouth when his Wolverhampton Wanderers face the Cherries at Molineux in Saturday’s top flight fixture.
The hosts are aiming for their third consecutive victory on the back of a rout of Fulham in Gameweek 12 while Andoni Iraol’a side was beaten 2-1 by ten-man Brighton & Hove Albion last weekend.
Bournemouth’s board may well have thought that sacking O’Neil, highly contentious at the time, was even more justified when the now Wolves’ manager presided over a dire opening to the Old Gold’s 2024-25 top-flight season and a claim to one win in that opening half dozen.
However, as it is in the animal kingdom, Wolves did not take this lying down and are currently enjoying a four-game unbeaten run in the top division, having won their last two against fellow strugglers Southampton and a previously in-form Fulham.
Alex Iwobi, may have put the Cottagers ahead in the first period of the previous weekend but an amazing second half of soccer saw Matheus Cunha score two goals, Joao Gomes bagging his second of the season and Goncalo Guedes getting his first for the season and at the death completed an amazing royal turnaround from what O’Neil’s side was facing defeat.
Taking eight points from the last twelve available, Wolves have moved off the dangerous dotted line and into 17th position in the Premier League log, one position ahead of Ipswich Town due to a far better goal difference; 20 goals scored in 2024-25 is the second-best return in the division outside the first six teams.
There was never any question that Saturday’s hosts would prioritise the breaking of opposing nets as they look to extend their impressive scoring tally of 13 consecutive matches across all competitions including their bid to register for the tenth home games on a row, however there are no prizes for correctly guessing the last team to devoid Wolverhampton Wanderers from scoring at Molineux.
Although Wolves have lost both of their previous home games against Bournemouth by a score of 1-0, they left the Vitality Stadium in October 2023 with a 2-1 victory—the same score by which Iraola's team lost their previous home encounter.
Carlos Baleba's dismissal for two bookable offences did not spark a Cherries comeback; their only reward for their efforts was an injury-time goal from David Brooks. Joao Pedro scored one of his own goals within the first four minutes before suitably setting up Kaoru Mitoma four minutes after the restart.
Bournemouth heads north hurt after back-to-back losses to Brighton and Brentford, disappointing results that have dropped them to an unfortunate 13th place in the Premier League rankings, while Wolves celebrate two consecutive victories.
Like their upcoming rivals Wolves, the visitors are still committed to attacking—Brooks' late goal puts them on a five-game winning streak—but they are currently on a four-game losing streak away from home in the Premier League and have not kept a clean sheet on the road since their most recent victory at Molineux in April.
All four of Wolves' Premier League games at Molineux have been won to 0; there hasn't been a top-flight encounter on the home field where both teams have scored, therefore that shutout for Iraola's club continued a certain trend in Wolves vs. Bournemouth meetings.
O'Neil may potentially have the best selection issues for Saturday's match, but he might only make one change based on fitness; Rayan Ait-Nouri should return to wing-back and Rodrigo Gomes should be benched in anticipation of Dawson's anticipated comeback.
Regarding Bournemouth's suspension, it's one in and one out. Ryan Christie is back in action following a yellow card suspension, while Antoine Semenyo is now on the naughty step after receiving five yellow cards.
Although Dango Ouattara and the returning Christie will have something to say about it, Brooks has more than established his case to replace the much sought-after Semenyo. If Iraola decides to move Justin Kluivert out wide, the latter might be a clean swap for Semenyo.
