Wolverhampton Wanderers are back in action in the Premier League once again this evening as they prepare to travel to the London Stadium to take on West Ham United.
It is a game that has been dubbed ‘El Sackico’ by some because of the mounting pressure over Julen Lopetegui and Gary O’Neil heading into this clash between the two struggling sides.
The Telegraph recently reported that the Wolves manager is currently hanging on by a thread and that his future at the Molineux stadium is in serious doubt, whilst it also added that the Hammers boss is in a similar position.
It was claimed that Rob Edwards, who is managing Luton in the Championship, David Moyes, and Graham Potter have all been considered by the board as potential replacements for the English head coach.
This suggests that O’Neil needs to turn things around incredibly swiftly if he wants to avoid the sack, as a negative result against the Hammers this evening, per the report from The Telegraph suggesting that he is on the verge of losing his job.
Wolves were hammered 4-0 by Everton at Goodison Park last time out and one player who should be dropped from the starting XI from that match is centre-back Craig Dawson.
Why Craig Dawson should be dropped
The veteran central defender had a nightmare last time out, it is fair to say, after he scored two of Everton’s four goals by finding the back of his own net.
He was let off early on when James Tarkowski got the better of him to score a header from a set piece, as VAR judged there to be a foul elsewhere in the box and ruled the goal out.
The third goal was the first one that Dawson put into his own goal as the ball came to the back post and the defender did not react quickly enough to the situation, which meant that the cross bounced off his arm into his own net.
For the fourth goal, the former West Brom defender slid in to stop Dominic Calvert-Lewin from getting across the front post and stretched a leg out to block the striker, only to prod the ball into the bottom corner after the English striker failed to make any contact with it.
The Wolves centre-back, who only won one ground duel in total, must now be ruthlessly ditched from the starting XI against West Ham after his errors against the Toffees last time out, with Toti Gomes the obvious replacement for him – having been on the bench at Goodison Park.
Dawson is far from the only player who is on the chopping block heading into this game, though, as goalkeeper Jose Sa must also be finally ditched from the line-up.
Why Jose Sa should be dropped
The Portuguese goalkeeper has started the last seven Premier League matches for Wolves after Sam Johnstone picked up an injury ahead of their clash with Manchester City.
Sa made five saves in the 2-1 defeat to the champions and has been backed by O’Neil in the subsequent six games, despite a string of disappointing performances between the sticks.
In the 2023/24 campaign, the 31-year-old ace made 35 appearances in the Premier League and prevented a whopping 8.45 goals based on the xG against him, which shows that he bailed out his team time and time again with high-quality saves.
No other goalkeeper in the division prevented more than 6.09 and this suggests that Sa was one of the best, if not the best, shot-stoppers in the top-flight last term.
Starts
35
9
Save success rate
70%
54%
Goals conceded per game
1.7
2.6
Goals prevented
8.45
-7.48
Penalties committed
0
2
As you can see in the table above, the Wolves goalkeeper’s performances have declined at an alarming rate from the 2023/24 campaign to the current season.
He has conceded a staggering 7.48 more goals than the average goalkeeper would have been expected to from the xG faced in his nine appearances this season, which illustrates just how much he has struggled between the sticks – as did his performance at Goodison Park.
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Sa was handed a 2/10 rating by the Express and Star for his display against Everton, due to letting Ashley Young’s low free-kick in and flapping at the cross for the third goal, and the liability must finally be ditched from the XI after another poor showing.
Sam Johnstone's form this season
In the summer transfer window, Wolves swooped to sign Sam Johnstone from Premier League rivals Crystal Palace for a reported fee of £10m on a four-year contract.
The England international came in to compete with Sa for the number one spot after Dean Henderson had taken his spot as the first-choice for the Eagles.
He arrived off the back of a disappointing season between the sticks at Selhurst Park. The former Manchester United youngster started 20 times in the Premier League for Palace and conceded 7.29 more goals than expected, which illustrates how much he struggled as a shot-stopper.
Johnstone came in with a point to prove after being sold by the Eagles and made a strong start to life with Wolves, making four saves and preventing 0.74 goals in a 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest on his debut.
Appearances
9
5
Save success rate
54%
59%
Goals prevented
-7.48
-1.43
Error led to goal
1
0
Penalties committed
2
0
As you can see in the table above, the England international has outperformed Sa in the Premier League for the Old Gold as a shot-stopper this season.
Despite that, he has been an unused substitute in the last two matches for Wolves since his return from injury, with Sa letting in eight goals to Bournemouth and Everton – giving away two penalties against the Cherries.
With O’Neil’s job potentially on the line, the manager must ruthlessly ditch Sa from the starting XI alongside Dawson at the back and bring Johnstone in to protect the goal.
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