Gary O’Neil must recall one Wolves star to the starting line-up vs Bournemouth after his recent sensational form.
Wolves are back on track after a woeful start to the season. O’Neil was close to getting the sack just two games back.
However, a run of two consecutive wins and an unbeaten run of four games has seen pressure ease on the Wolves manager.
Many of the Molineux faithful might suggest that after a 4-1 victory against Fulham, O’Neil should not meddle too much with the starting XI.
However, one star who must return to the first XI is Goncalo Guedes after his exceptional run of form.
Goncalo Guedes’ Wolves form has been sensational
Goncalo Guedes of Wolverhampton Wanderers celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the Carabao Cup Second Round match between Wolverhampton ...
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Despite his limited minutes this season, Guedes has more than impressed. The attacker looked to have no future at Wolves after he spent the previous season and a half out on loan.
However, O’Neil brought Guedes back into the fold during pre-season and he has since been a squad player.
His recent form has more than justified this position. Despite mainly being used in the cup or from the bench, Guedes has accumulated five goal contributions in all competitions for the Old Gold this season.
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His most recent addition came on Saturday as he netted a late fourth goal against Fulham despite only coming onto the pitch in added time.
As a result, Guedes is currently averaging a goal contribution every 56 minutes for Wolves. This is better than most world-class attackers such as Erling Haaland who is currently averaging one every 95 minutes for Man City.
On top of this, over the past year, Guedes has shown he is extremely creative. Per 90 minutes, he is averaging 3.5 shot-creating actions, 4.63 progressive passes, 3.43 progressive carries and a pass completion rate of 76.5%. According to Fbref, each one of these are inside the top 20% compared to other forwards.
Yet, the Portuguese attacker has had few minutes on the pitch. It has been reported that Guedes ‘would welcome’ a Wolves exit in January. However, more minutes on the pitch could change this.
Read more: Five realistic Wolves transfers that could happen in January
Gary O’Neil must start Goncalo Guedes vs Bournemouth
Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Gary O'Neil during the Premier League match between Fulham FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers FC at Craven Cottage on N...
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Against Bournemouth, the time has come for O’Neil to trust Guedes with a Premier League start.
While the starting XI against Fulham were largely excellent, players such as Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Rodrigo Gomes struggled at times.
Therefore, Guedes could easily slot into one of these roles as he has often been utilised as a winger.
Bournemouth are already set to be weaker with Antoine Semenyo suspended for the Wolves match.
By playing someone in-form like Guedes, it could help exploit their weaknesses as well as make the forward happier given his lack of regular minutes.
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