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da dobrowin： This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
Wolves are back in league action on Saturday having taken a break in midweek for the Carabao Cup.
It’s a bottom of the table clash at Molineux as the league’s worst team, Watford, make the trip north.
After both teams finished inside the top 11 last season, no one could have predicted they would be the two to occupy 19th and 20th after six matches, but that is the case.
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The term ‘six-pointer’ is often a massively overused cliché within football, nevertheless, it can be applied here.
Both teams could do with a win to kickstart their season. A Wolves win would hand them a five-point cushion from rock-bottom which would be rather handy.
Several of Nuno Santo’s men will be fresh for this fixture having been gifted a rest in midweek, none more so than Joao Moutinho, who could prove to be the defining man in the middle on Saturday.
If you don’t know the words to the Joao Moutinho chant in the video below, are you even a real Wolves fan?…
On the Chalkboard
Last season, the Portuguese playmaker was Wolves’ key creative outlet as he recorded eight assists in the Premier League.
He’s continued his attacking influence into this campaign having registered five assists in all competitions already.
Football FanCast have previously shown how Nuno’s midfield has regressed over the summer, but if anyone has the quality to turn it around, it’s the Euro 2016 and 2019 Nations League winning 33-year-old.
At 2 key passes per game, he already has an advantage over Watford’s Abdoulaye Doucoure, who is averaging 1.7 himself.
The Portugal international has also been getting involved in the defensive side of things this season too, recording 3.7 tackles per game which is also higher than the Hornets’ defensive midfielder, who has only managed 2.2.
The 26-year-old sits deeper hence his higher number of passes per game as he is more involved in the match linking the defensive play to the more creative sorts around him – like Gerard Deulofeu, who averages 2 key passes per game.
Moutinho will need to do better with his dribbling as Doucoure is strong in the interception and an incredibly robust individual.
If Wolves’ midfield can get back to the same heights as last season through the Portuguese playmaker, they’ll have every chance of success versus Watford.