'It's now or never for Wolves' European bid'
Perhaps Wolves’ best target for tonight would be to make sure they are stars of their own show.
At Molineux, only Wolves and their supporters will be concerned with their ambitions; the rest of the world, and all but the local media, will have eyes only for their opponents.
Events have left Wolves needing to beat either Manchester City or Liverpool - and possibly both - as well as win the intervening game against Norwich to claim the place in Europe next season for which they have been contenders since late autumn. Achieving that, in the glare of the title race, really would grab the spotlight.
Clearly, City are favourites to beat them. But that was also true in December 2019, when this fixture was last played in front of a crowd, and Wolves ran down the 2-0 lead the visitors had built up despite being a man short. It was also true earlier that season at Etihad Stadium, when Wolves pulled off a shock late win.
The common factor - the X-factor - in both games was the running of Adama Traore, which broke through City’s carefully built patterns and created havoc.
Timely then, perhaps, that Chiquinho, the young January signing whose early showings invite comparison with Traore, should have made such a lively contribution at Chelsea late on Saturday.
It would be a bold move to give him a crack at City on an occasion like this, but it’s now or never for Wolves’ European bid. Few will criticise Bruno Lage if he goes for broke on Wednesday night. Why not?
