Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Brentford
Saturday 24 September Molineux Stadium Sky Bet Championship Kick-off: 3pm
The Opponents
Wolves come into this game on the back of two fixtures against Newcastle United; a 2-0 win in the league followed by defeat by that same scoreline in the EFL Cup. Their other September fixtures were a 1-1 draw with Burton Albion and then a 4-0 defeat to Barnsley.
Wanderers are 10th in the Sky Bet Championship, but at this early stage just seven points is the gap to both top club Huddersfield Town and Cardiff City at the bottom of the table.
Good news came this week when they announced captain Danny Batth recently signed a new four-year contract that will see him stay at Molineux until the summer of 2020. The news came at the same time goalkeeper Andy Lonergan praised the new level of depth in the squad while admitting that the team will need to be on their toes when The Bees come to town. "Brentford are very capable on the day of putting in a performance," said Andy.
In the summer the squad lost the likes of Bjorn Bergmann Sigurdarson [Molde], Kevin McDonald [Fulham] and Nathan Byrne [Wigan Athletic]. They recruited several players to plug the gaps, such as Jon Dadi Bodvarsson [Kaiserslautern] and Romain Saiss [Angers]. The Club also broke its transfer record in signing Ivan Cavaleiro [AS Monaco] for £7m.
Loan signings Cameron Borthwick-Jackson [Manchester United], Helder Costa [AS Monaco], Ola John and Joao Teixeira [Benfica] will also be available this weekend.
The Manager
Walter Zenga only joined Wolves this summer after returning from a spell managing Al-Shaab in the United Arab Emirates. Before that the former professional goalkeeper was Head Coach of Sampdoria, Palermo and Catania in his native Italy.
As a player, Zenga represented Inter Milan for the majority of his career and was capped 58 times by his national side. On an individual level he was nominated for International Goalkeeper of the Year three times in a row between 1989-1991 and his team honours include a Serie A title, the Italian Super Cup and two UEFA Cups.
The Match Officials
Referee: Andy Davies Assistant Referees: Timothy Wood and Daniel Leach Fourth Official: David Webb
Ticket news
Advanced sales end at 2pm today and tickets will NOT be available on the day at Molineux.
Phone sales will be on 0844 327 1901 (option 1) until 8pm on Friday and from 9am to 1pm on Saturday. In person sales will be from 9am to kick-off on Saturday from the main ticket office at the North Stand. Collections and duplicates will also be at the main ticket office. There is no price increase, but there is a £1.50 per ticket booking fee added in each booking (by phone or in person).
Travel News
There is construction ongoing on routes to tomorrow's match. For help planning your journey click here
Pre-Match Views
Dean Smith: “it's about remaining consistent in what we do”
Nico Yennaris: "anyone can beat anyone in this league"
The Last Meeting
23 February 2016, Sky Bet Championship - Brentford 3 Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 Brentford: Button; Yennaris, Dean, O'Connell, Bidwell; Woods, McEachran; Canos, Judge, Swift; Djuricin Three goals shared between loan players John Swift (2) and Sergi Canos pile more misery on Kenny Jackett, who is already under heavy pressure
Head to Head
Brentford wins: 11 Draws: 2 Wolves wins: 10
Match Betting
Principal partners 888sport offer the latest odds on tomorrow's trip to The AMEX Wolves 5/4 Bees 21/10 Draw 23/10 Join Club Sponsors 888sport today and get odds of 5/1 on Scott Hogan to score in a Brentford victory tomorrow afternoon!
Match Coverage
You can hear live match commentary on Bees Player from 2.30pm tomorrow, with Mark Burridge and Dave Morley.
There will be live match updates on Twitter from 2pm tomorrow.