Wolverhampton Wanderers slipped to their second defeat in a row on the weekend, losing 2-0 against Aston Villa.
The result hinders their recent progress and with a top half finish in the Premier League at stake, an improvement will be needed against Burnley on Tuesday evening.
Vincent Kompany’s men currently occupy 19th place in the league table, winning just four matches all season. A win for Gary O’Neil’s side could see them gather momentum ahead of clashes against West Ham United and Nottingham Forest.
Injuries have not been kind to the Old Gold recently, with the likes of Matheus Cunha, Hwang Hee-Chan and Pedro Neto missing recent matches, but O’Neil must change things up tomorrow, especially as a few players delivered poor performances, most notably Rayan Ait-Nouri.
Rayan Ait-Nouri’s game in numbers vs Aston Villa
Having shone against Coventry City in the FA Cup prior to the international break, scoring and grabbing an assist, the defender failed to replicate that against Villa.
It was always going to be a tough match, especially facing off against Leon Bailey, but Ait-Nouri failed to really get into the game, taking just 33 touches while completing only 13 passes during his spell on the pitch.
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Rayan Ait-Nouri’s stats vs Aston Villa |
|
|---|---|
|
Accurate passes |
13/16 |
|
Touches |
33 |
|
Key passes |
0 |
|
Possession lost |
9 |
|
Big chances created |
0 |
|
Via Sofascore |
|
Having provided such a vital attacking threat against the Sky Blues a couple of weeks ago, Ait-Nouri succeeded with just one dribble attempt, had one shot on target and missed a big chance, suggesting that he wasn’t quite at the races on the weekend.
There is no doubting his talent, it was just a case of the player having a bad game when it mattered most. This could perhaps give O’Neil a chance to unleash a young talent in his place for the match against Burnley, as Hugo Bueno could come into the starting XI.
Hugo Bueno’s Wolves statistics
The 21-year-old broke onto the scene during Wolves’ turbulent 2022/23 campaign, making 23 appearances in all competitions in his maiden season for the first team.
The Spaniard even signed a long-term deal in November 2022, with journalist Liam Keen lauding the youngster as a “promising talent” as the future certainly looked bright.
This season has been slightly tougher for the left-back, starting just four Premier League games during 2023/24 – with none coming so far in 2024 – due to the form of Ait-Nouri.
When Bueno has played, however, he has created two big chances, averaging 0.3 key passes and 26.1 touches per game, despite averaging just 33 minutes of action in the top flight.
Bueno has also been dribbled past on just 0.3 occasions per game, along with making 1.1 tackles and recovering 2.1 balls per game. Showing his talents across a range of defensive and attacking metrics.
O’Neil should consider unleashing him against the Clarets in what would be his first league start of the calendar year, as this could stand him in good stead heading into the final weeks of the season.
A win is crucial for the Old Gold if they wish to finish in the top half of the league table come the end of the season.
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