Wolves climb out of relegation zone, drop West Ham into bottom-three
Wolves moved out of the Premier League’s relegation zone with a 1-0 win over West Ham, who take their place in the bottom-three, at Molineux Stadium on Saturday.
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Daniel Podence capped a quick Wolves counter-attack in the 48th minute, scoring the game’s only goal with a smashing strike from the top of the penalty area. The Portuguese winger leads the way for Wolves with five PL goals this season, including three in the last four games.
Raul Jimenez put the ball in the back of the net in second-half stoppage, briefly netting his first PL goal this season before it was ruled out for offside as the Mexican international made his run in behind just a beat too early.
The win is just Wolves’ second in nine Premier League outings (2W-2D-5L), but puts them on 17 points as they climb from 19th to 16th with a single victory. Such is life at the heavily congested bottom of the table these days.
Going the other way across the relegation line is West Ham (15 points), who have now taken all of one point from their last seven PL games. David Moyes’ side sits 18th at the halfway point of their season.
How to watch Wolves vs West Ham live, stream link and start time
Kick off: 10am ET, Saturday
TV Channel: USA Network
Online: Stream via Peacock Premium
Key storylines & (young) star players
Few players have been good and consistent for Wolves. One of those players has been Ruben Neves, who must be growing impatient at the Molineux. Maybe Matheus Cunha can be the club’s sparkplug in attack.
Can West Ham get something from its forwards with Gianluca Scamacca potentially out of the lineup? It’s midfield has been a strength as Declan Rice, Lucas Paqueta, and Tomas Soucek are the envy of many of club. But Jarrod Bowen’s goal and assist numbers have dipped massively and Moyes is still looking for the right mix. Said Benrahma is tied for the team league in PL goals, with three, and scored in the FA Cup win over Brentford. Maybe it’s his time.
Wolves team news, injuries, lineup options
OUT: Sasa Kalajdzic (ACL), Pedro Neto (ankle), Chiquinho (ACL/LCL), Boubacar Traore (other)
West Ham team news, injuries, lineup options
QUESTIONABLE: Manuel Lanzini (groin), Alphonse Areola (groin), Gianluca Scamacca (knee), Vladimir Coufal (knock), Kurt Zouma (knee). OUT: Maxwel Cornet (calf)
Wolves climb out of relegation zone, drop West Ham into bottom-three originally appeared on NBCSports.com