Wolves vs. Brighton
Venue: Molineux
Kick off: 12PM
Wolverhampton Wanderers square off against Brighton & Hove Albion this afternoon looking to move a step closer to finishing no lower than 12th position in the Premier League standings.
However, Brighton, who have all but avoided relegation with four games to spare, make the trip to Molineux sitting just five points adrift of their hosts.
For all of their entertaining football in the final third this season, Brighton needed last weekend’s 2-0 victory over Leeds United to effectively secure their top-flight status for another 12 months.
A Pascal Gross penalty and a superbly-taken second from Danny Welbeck ended a run of four games without success for the Seagulls, who now sit 10 points clear of Fulham.
Although Graham Potter will demand that his players do not take their foot off the gas during the run-in, the Brighton boss can at least begin to think about next season, providing that the South-coast outfit are able to retain his services.
Other clubs in the division are allegedly considering an approach during the summer, but the 45-year-old is unlikely to be in any rush to leave the Amex Stadium just two years into a progressing long-term project.
Even with Manchester City, West Ham United and Arsenal to follow this contest, Potter will feel that his group of players have the ability to gain the five points required to record Brighton’s most points in a Premier League season.
To a certain degree, Wolverhampton Wanderers head coach Nuno Espirito Santo finds himself in a similar situation to his opposite number in the dugout.
Although Wolves are confirmed as a Premier League club for next season, the Portuguese is under pressure from the club’s fanbase to use the remaining four fixtures to hand opportunities to the club’s prospects.
The likes of Vitinha, Owen Otasowie and Fabio Silva all made a positive impression during the 1-1 draw at Black Country rivals West Bromwich Albion earlier this week.
Nevertheless, supporters want to see that the team selection was not a one-off, especially in the case of Vitinha who they regard as the natural long-term replacement to veteran Joao Moutinho.
After an injury-hit campaign, Wolves deserve credit for avoiding any kind of a relegation battle, but a tough run-in means that they still have work to do to stay above the bottom five teams.
The reverse fixture in January proved to be one of the games of the season with Brighton fighting back to earn a thrilling 3-3 draw.
Wolves possible XI: Patricio, Semedo, Coady, Saiss, Kilman, Dendoncker, Moutinho, Otasowie, Vitinha, Traore, Silva.
Brighton possible XI: Sanchez, White, Dunk, Webster, Veltman, Gross, Bissouma, Burn, Trossard, Welbeck, Maupay.