Forget Manchester United and Tottenham, the Wolves may well be the biggest threat to Chelsea’s position in the top four in the Premier League.
The qualification for the Champions League was not too far last season either since they finished 14 points behind Tottenham.
This time around, even with the extra rigors of a Europa League marathon campaign, it looks like they are likely to outpace their new rivals and finish a return to elite football.
The Wolves season started on July 25, 2019 – 225 days ago – in Molineux when the Crusaders from the north of Ireland presented themselves in the European secondary competition.
The players had resumed training almost a month before the match, just 27 days after the Champions League final last season in Madrid.
Romain Saiss and Raul Jimenez were the only players exempt from training, both in international service.
Manager Nuno Espirito Santo did not retain the match either; a 2-0 victory saw an almost full-power team in action, including Saiss and Jimenez.
You might be forgiven for thinking that Nuno had lost his faculties by doing this, but the Wolves now have a manager obsessed with their return to the top names in Europe for the first time since their defeat in the European Cup quarter-final in Barcelona in 1960.
It’s by his own admission too.
“Fans can rest assured that every day is my obsession,” said Nuno in February when a new contract surfaced.
“Wolves are my obsession. It’s my life. I don’t think of anything else. “
Such words allayed fears about his exit, particularly given his connection to Arsenal when Unai Emery was sacked.
Nuno’s passion and spirit also manifests with his players and this will likely continue on Saturday as they face Brighton – with full commentary on the Premier League shock live on talkSPORT 2!
Wolves are undoubtedly fighting for qualification for the Champions League and, given recent performances, they have more than Tottenham, as shown in North London last weekend.
Forget the clip of Pedro Neto that rolled into the heart of Jose Mourinho’s team – it was an incredible team effort and a real demonstration of mental courage to bounce back by going 1-0 and 2-1 in the arena of the space era of Spurs.
They did not lose their temper, they continued with the game plan and finished their hosts with rhythm and technique.
It may sound simple, but it isn’t, especially after a grueling 46-game season (so far).
Their resilience shows no limits either; the return to N17 was not the first time and it will not be the last time the wolves return from behind to claim victory this season.
Not only did the Nuno warriors manage to gain 21 points by losing positions, they actually dragged on longer than they led for the entire campaign.
In fact, it is actually quite amazing how long they have been ahead.
In total, the Wolves led Premier League games for only 385 minutes, or only 4.28 games.
Amazing for a side in a top four.
Only Newcastle and Crystal Palace have spent less time ahead of games this season.
It is not as if they are mainly at the level of their adversaries – fair. They spent 853 minutes dragging their opponents with only Norwich behind for longer.
As a result, the Wolves are actually the third best team in the division in the second half. If only the goals between 46 minutes and the final whistle had counted, they would have racked up 53 points, Man City getting 57 and Liverpool totaling 60, which is not bad company.
Meanwhile, 70.7% of their goals are scored in the second period.
It is the testimony of Nuno and his men that they managed to overcome these obstacles and claim 42 points – three less than Chelsea, like Man United, and two more than Spurs.
If only the Wolves could fast-forward in more games.
They have won all five matches in which they have led at halftime and the only other club with a 100% record is Liverpool.
They will have a chance to do just that against Brighton on Saturday, but even if they do not, we will not be surprised if the wolves fight to claim the three points and get closer to achieving their dream of qualifying in the Champions League. true.
Saturday is GameDay on talkSPORT as we bring you THREE Premier League comments live on our network, including Wolves vs Brighton on talkSPORT 2 at 3 p.m.