Wolverhampton Wanderers’ seven-game unbeaten streak ended on Thursday evening in frustrating fashion.
Manchester United won the tie 4-3 after Gary O’Neil’s side pulled back a two-goal deficit twice, just for them to concede in the 97th minute.
Nevertheless, the focus is now switched over to their game against Chelsea on Sunday, where the Wanderers have an opportunity to bounce back.
That said, the boss must look to switch up his attack for the Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge.
Jean-Ricner Bellegarde should be benched
Jean-Ricner Bellegarde moved to Wolves in the summer from Strasbourg, and he has been deployed in numerous roles, ranging from left-midfield in a three-back to centre forward. However, you wouldn’t have known he was on the pitch against United this week.
Bellegarde vs Man United
Stats
Bellegarde
Minutes
64
Goal contributions
0
Shots
0
Touches
28
Passes completed
19/19
Stats via Sofascore
It is no surprise that the midfielder playing out of position found it difficult on Thursday, and he rarely had any impact on the game in the final third, as shown by his zero attempts at goal.
The France ace was also too safe with the ball, and although his 100% pass accuracy statistic is impressive, he didn’t offer any creativity to the side throughout the game, and Wolves scored all three of their goals after he exited the field.
Pablo Sarabia must start against Chelsea
The experienced Spaniard came off the bench to play 26 minutes against the Red Devils, and in that time he linked up brilliantly with Pedro Neto and began the comeback with a goal from the spot. However, that wasn’t the first time that the forward has had a similar effect on the side, as he also scored and assisted in ten minutes against Tottenham Hotspur back in November, when Wolves won 2-1.
The table below shows Pablo Sarabia’s statistics from this season and how he compares to his positional peers in the Premier League, which gives an idea of what kind of impact he could have on Sunday.
Sarabia’s 2023/24 PL Stats
Stats (per 90)
Sarabia
PL Percentile
Assists
0.58
Top 3%
xA
0.37
Top 1%
Key passes
3.50
Top 1%
Progressive passes
6.30
Top 13%
Passes into penalty area
2.57
Top 8%
Stats via FBref
As you can see by his assists statistics, Sarabia is a creative “magician,” as per journalist Zach Lowy, and his role on Sunday will be to provide chances for Matheus Cunha and Neto to run into the channels and use their pace on the break.
The former PSG star’s progressive passes, key passes, and passes into the penalty area prove he would be the perfect option as the false nine.
Furthermore, as Chelsea will dominate the ball for long spells of the game, it is important that O’Neil can rely on his players to be direct and creative when they are in possession. Sarabia’s technical ability will help with that goal while also giving the side a better chance of evading the Blues’ counter-press.
Overall, the 5 foot 9 forward could just hold the key to unlocking Chelsea’s defence and allowing Wolves to do the double over their west London opponents.