NafisaA lot can shift in just four months, as demonstrated by the upcoming Wolves versus Leicester City match this weekend.
During their December encounter at the King Power Stadium, Leicester were positioned above Wolves in the Premier League standings, in what was a critical six-pointer.
Wolves triumphed over Leicester with a 3-0 win in Vitor Pereira’s debut as manager, setting a strong statement of their intent to climb out of the relegation zone with flair.
The Old Gold have since secured victories on seven additional occasions, now sitting 17 points clear of the bottom three, while the Foxes have been demoted to the Championship after a streak of 12 games without a win.
On Sunday, Wolves defeated Manchester United 1-0 – marking their fifth consecutive Premier League victory – with Pereira’s squad aiming to notch a sixth this weekend.
Graham Scott named on VAR for Wolves vs Leicester City:
Pereira envisions Wolves achieving ‘big things’ moving forward, and supporters will be eager for that to materialize, despite Fosun’s constraints.
To position themselves as a more appealing destination for new recruits, the Wanderers will aim to climb as high as possible in the league table and conclude their season on a positive note.
Wolves have already surpassed West Ham and Tottenham, reaching 15th place. Promisingly, a win this weekend, combined with favorable results elsewhere, could see them rise to 13th.
Ahead of the clash at Molineux, Sam Barrott has been appointed as the referee, with Graham Scott handling VAR duties.
Scott has served as VAR in 12 matches involving Wolves, including their FA Cup quarter-final loss to Coventry City last season.
However, the Englishman has also officiated hundreds of games, one of which was the contentious match between Wolves and Nottingham Forest in 2023.
Scott angered Ruben Neves against Nottingham Forest:
In January 2023, Forest emerged victorious on penalties in a Carabao Cup tie against Wolves, but the match’s outcome left Ruben Neves deeply frustrated.
The Portuguese midfielder believed Wolves were denied a penalty when Matheus Nunes was challenged by Emmanuel Dennis, but Scott – the match official – deemed the contact insufficient to warrant a spot kick.
With VAR absent from the clash, Neves had to accept Scott’s original decision and that led to him blasting the official with criticism at full-time.
“Maybe if I step on his foot like their player stepped on Matheus, and he’ll ask for a foul,” Neves said. “He told us as well that if the foul was in the middle of the pitch he would give it to us, but that the criteria in the box is different and the contact was not deemed to be enough.
“Do we need to start breaking legs to have penalties in football? Now the referees would have the sensibility to know if the contact is enough or not.
“I showed him Matheus’ boot, it was completely ripped! There’s no excuses. He didn’t give the penalty because he didn’t want to give it, that’s it.”
It was a night to forget for Neves, who also missed his penalty, as Wolves exited the competition after controversy that supporters hope doesn’t creep into Scott’s game this weekend.
Nafisa
