Preview: Brighton v Wolves

Wolves correspondent Tim Spiers previews the clash.

Preamble

Wolves made a very nice habit of bouncing back from defeats last season.

They lost just seven times on their way to storming the Championship title. On five occasions they bounced back with a victory – keeping a clean sheet every time – while another defeat was followed by a 0-0 draw at Brentford and the seventh loss was on the last day of the season.

Nuno Espirito Santo made a point of focusing the minds of his players to ensure they never slipped to consecutive losses and it was a key factor behind their title success.

Now he's looking to repeat that bouncebackability in the Premier League and Wolves have already managed it once this season, with the 2-0 defeat to Leicester followed by a deeply impressive 1-1 draw against Manchester City.

Brighton enjoyed a good home record at the Amex last season, winning 29 points at home to counteract their poor away record, which was the worst in the division.

With a host of players in their squad that have been with them since their Championship promotion, such as Anthony Knockaert, Bruno, Lewis Dunk, Dale Stephens and Beram Kayal, as well as boss Chris Hughton, the Seagulls are renowned for their consistency – and for not scoring or conceding too many goals.

Wolves don't score or concede too many either, so expect a tight encounter.

But also expect a much-improved performance from last weekend. That's what Nuno's Wolves tend to do.

The opposition

Luke Hatfield spoke to two Brighton reporters to get the lowdown on the Seagulls.

Team news

Brighton could be without Glenn Murray who suffered a head injury and was knocked unconscious during last weekend's 1-0 win at Newcastle. The game had to be stopped for eight minutes and Murray was taken to hospital – he's since got the all-clear but after suffering concussion he may not feature. A decision will be made today

Bruno also went off at Newcastle with a back injury but has recovered in time. However creative midfielder Pascal Gross will miss a sixth game in a row with an ankle problem.

Midfielder Davy Propper is sidelined for a number weeks. Beram Kayal has been deputising.

Unless Wolves have picked up any problems during the week, Nuno Espirito Santo will once again have a fully fit squad to choose from.

His perennial selection dilemma has been whether to draft in Adama Traore and Ivan Cavaleiro, who have made 11 substitute appearances between them in the league but have yet to start.

There's been no lack of effort or endeavour from Helder Costa and Diogo Jota, but with neither yet to contribute a single goal or assist, the head coach may choose to freshen things up after naming the same XI for the first nine games.

He hinted last weekend that it may finally be time to change his line up, but would judge his players on how they trained this week.

Likely line ups

Brighton (4-4-1-1): Ryan; Bruno, Duffy, Dunk, Bong; Jahanbakhsh, Stephens, Kayal, Izquierdo; March; Locadia.

Wolves (3-4-3): Patricio; Bennett, Coady, Boly; Doherty, Moutinho, Neves, Otto; Costa, Jimenez, Cavaleiro. Subs: Ruddy, Hause, Saiss, Vinagre, Jota, Traore, Bonatini.

Key players

Brighton – Jose Izquierdo

Colombian winger who scored five times last season after moving from Club Brugge for £13m. Made his first start of the season at Newcastle last weekend due to an injury picked up at the World Cup. A livewire who can change any game.

Wolves – Joao Moutinho

Wolves were outplayed against Watford last weekend with Moutinho's threat from midfield nullified. Against a well-organised Brighton team he’ll need to be back to his best.

The bosses

Chris Hughton: "Wolves have a manager that has got the best out of the team, plays a way that hasn't changed so much. They've continued that formation and improved the squad. I've been really impressed."

Nuno Espirito Santo: "The week will dictate the decisions that we have to make for Brighton. We didn’t play good against Watford, we didn’t play well or perform."

Form

Brighton DLLWW

Oct 20: Newcastle United 0 Brighton 1 (Kayal 29)

Oct 5: Brighton 1 (Murray 25) West Ham 0

Sep 29: Manchester City 2 (Sterling 29, Aguero 65) Brighton 0

Sep 22: Brighton 1 (Knockaert 90+3) Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Kane pen 42, Lamela 76)

Sep 17: Southampton 2 (Hojbjerg 35, Ings pen 64) Brighton 2 (Duffy 67, Murray pen 90+1)

Wolves DLWWL

Oct 20: Wolves 0 Watford 2 (Capoue 20, Pereyra 21)

Oct 6: Crystal Palace 0 Wolves 1 (Doherty, 56)

Sep 29: Wolves 2 (Cavaleiro 79, Otto 87) Southampton 0

Sep 25: Wolves 0 Leicester City 0 (1-3 on pens) *Carabao Cup

Sep 22: Manchester United 1 ( Fred 17) Wolves 1 (Moutinho 53)

Past five meetings

Apr 14, 2017 (Ch): Wolves 0 Brighton 2 (Knockaert 45, 82)

Oct 18, 2016 (Ch): Brighton 1 (Baldock 14) Wolves 0

Jan 1, 2016 (Ch): Brighton 0 Wolves 1 (Goldson OG 32)

Sep 19, 2015 (Ch) Wolves 0 Brighton 0

Mar 14, 2015 (Ch) Brighton 1 (Bruno 70) Wolves 1 (Van La Parra 74)

Referee

Anthony Taylor (Cheshire)

Experienced referee who has yet to show a red card this season, flashing 48 yellows in his 13 matches.

His last Wolves game was 10 months ago for a 0-0 FA Cup third round draw against Swansea at Molineux, where he sent off Wolves' Ruben Vinagre and Swansea's Leroy Fer.

Match odds

Brighton 21/10, draw 11/5, Wolves 6/4