Wolves v Fulham - Liam Keen and Nathan Judah preview - video Dailymotion

Express & Star

Wolves v Fulham - Liam Keen and Nathan Judah preview

Transcript

00:00Hello, I'm Nathan Judah, I'm here with, what was the problem, Mr Ollie? Oh no, he's gone,

00:13he's gone, it's Kino's back, Kino's back from his stag do.

00:16Sorry guys, sorry guys.

00:17You might be a bit paler than normal.

00:19I feel good mate, honestly, I feel 100%. It wasn't my stag do by the way, it was a friend

00:25of mine, I don't want you to think you're not going to be invited, because I'll send

00:27you pictures when it comes round.

00:29I'll look forward to them.

00:30I just heard from Vitor, again, it's like we see him every other day now, ahead of the

00:35big game, Fulham, tomorrow night, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Mullen U, 7.45pm?

00:40I couldn't tell you mate, I'm sorry, I forgot.

00:43I'm not joking, I'm not joking, three days away, he's shattered a job and he doesn't

00:46care anymore, it's absolutely unbelievable.

00:48It could be any time, it could be midday kick off, I want to know.

00:51Can I ask you about what's just happened or are you going to be in a bit of a state to

00:53tell me?

00:54So which club are we covering, I don't know where I am.

00:56No, yes, ask me whatever you want, I'll give my best shot.

00:59OK, great stuff.

01:00Injuries, ahead of the game?

01:02Yes, not a major surprise really, Rodrigo, which I did like your tweet the other day

01:06by the way, pelvis inflammation, that tweet went down well.

01:10Why, what are you trying to say?

01:13Shut up.

01:14So he's unavailable, huang and aggravated both with hamstrings broken.

01:17I mean the actual thing is he's got irritation on his pubic bone, but I thought I'd better

01:20not to use that one.

01:21Is that actually what you're saying?

01:22Yes.

01:23I don't know where to go with that.

01:24No you can't.

01:25I could have said a few things there.

01:28So yes, the other two with hamstrings not available, Guedes was a surprise for Bournemouth,

01:33wasn't available, carrying a sort of ongoing knee issue.

01:37And then the slight update to that is that he doesn't expect him also to be available

01:40for tomorrow, but that he's had an MRI scan on that, so he's got a bit of pain in his

01:45knee, trying to sort of, I suppose, diagnose, figure out what the exact issue is.

01:48Everybody worries when you hear MRI.

01:50Yeah, I think it seems like it's minor, I think it's important to mention, but that

01:55all four of them are not expected to be available for tomorrow.

01:59Yeah, look, in terms of selection, we saw Jorgen Strand-Larsen come on at half-time

02:04in the 1-0 win against Bournemouth, but you look at that team, and you look at Monezzi,

02:09and you look at Bellegarde, you look at Strand-Larsen, and one of them's probably going to miss out

02:12tomorrow night.

02:13He said it's a good problem to have, and it is, isn't it really?

02:17Yeah, he's happy to have a selection headache, as the cliche goes.

02:20But Larsen's had a little bit of stick from a few sections.

02:24I like him, I think he brings a good focal point to this team.

02:28His goal-scoring record this season has been pretty decent, albeit with the injury, and

02:33just before that injury, obviously, he was a little bit out of form.

02:37But I think it's a decent return so far, I think he's got more to offer, and I think

02:40if he can get himself back in the right frame of mind, the right headspace, he could be

02:44a really important player between now and the end of the season.

02:47And I do see him being a big option for tomorrow's game.

02:49I mean, asking Vito about it, he did say, look, I'm happy to have these headaches, first

02:54of all.

02:55But also, we've got a player now back available, an out-and-out number nine, who is ready and

03:00fit and can play.

03:01So that, for me, is probably the big selection dilemma that he has.

03:04Do you put him straight back in, or do you keep Manezzi where he is in that sort of false

03:08nine, makeshift number nine position?

03:09And Vito said, you know, after the win on Saturday, that he was ready to go, he wanted

03:14to start the game.

03:15But we all expected, and he did, that he wanted to hold him back, because, you know, something

03:19from a hamstring injury, and then straight into a 90 minutes of football, 70 minutes

03:22of football, it's a risk.

03:23Yeah, it'll be interesting to see that one.

03:25In terms of Fulham, there's a lot of respect there.

03:27I mean, Fulham have had an excellent season, albeit losing to Crystal Palace at the weekend,

03:312-0.

03:32It's still going to be a tough test, though, isn't it?

03:33Oh, absolutely, yeah.

03:34Look, Palace is, it's an interesting one, because they sort of pop up with the odd win

03:38here and there.

03:39So teams can lose to Crystal Palace.

03:41It doesn't mean that Fulham are a bad side all of a sudden.

03:43They've got some very good players, some that we know well, of course.

03:46I would expect Adama and Rao probably to play as well, probably to start this game, which

03:49would be very interesting.

03:51Hopefully they don't link up like they have done in the Wolves' show plenty of times.

03:54But yeah, I think if you, I mean, they've dropped down to 10th now, but it's still been

03:58a pretty decent season for this Fulham side.

04:01I think Marc Gasol was a decent coach as well.

04:03Hey!

04:04Crikey, that was loud.

04:06My head's spinning.

04:09And they pose a threat.

04:10But at the same time, and I think this is really important, you can't look at them as

04:15insurmountable.

04:16No, absolutely not.

04:17Similar to Bournemouth.

04:18I mean, Bournemouth have had a fantastic season.

04:20They're a really good side.

04:21But Wolves have got the quality to beat any Premier League side and went there and got

04:24a victory.

04:25This is certainly within Wolves' wheelhouse to get another win here.

04:29And my God, what a win would do, back-to-back, asking Vito about it, and look, he's pretty

04:35keen to stress that they've got a long way to go still, which I think is a smart way

04:38to put it.

04:39But if they can pick up a win tomorrow, I mean, they really are starting to look in

04:43the right direction.

04:44Now, there is a bit of a gap, albeit the gap below them is a little bit smaller, but five

04:47points now is enough to start thinking more optimistic, add anything on top of that, and

04:52I think Wolves are in a really good place.

04:53They've got a really, really important run of fixtures to come.

04:56Yeah, that five points, if that starts being eight points and pushing up towards double

05:00figures, then Wolves are in a great spot.

05:02You can all go on it, mate.

05:03You have our own stoke, do you?

05:04Absolutely.

05:05Get some drinks down.

05:06Look, and the chance to do the double over Fulham as well, it was one of the best results

05:09in the season away from home earlier on.

05:11I mean, that feels like a long time ago now.

05:13Were you there for that?

05:14I don't deserve that.

05:15You missed it for that one, were you?

05:16I don't deserve that.

05:18You're missing like three in a row.

05:19Oh, dear.

05:20One for Wrestlemania, maybe.

05:21Oh, God.

05:22That's a weird guy.

05:23I don't even know what that means.

05:24Don't be rude.

05:25Yeah, there you go.

05:26I knew that guy.

05:27Yeah, look, that feels like a long, long time ago.

05:28It was a real straining moment.

05:29I mean, that was the centre-back days, wasn't it?

05:30Yeah.

05:31Just after that, I was Bournemouth at home, 4-2 loss.

05:32Good days.

05:33So, great days.

05:34Yeah, I don't think you can read a lot into that.

05:35I think Wolves seem to feel like they're a different beast these days, not just in the

05:46way that they are consistently performing, but also the way that Pereira sets them up.

05:51They're a very different side to what they were back in, was that in mid-November?

05:55Yeah, a long time ago.

05:56Mid-November.

05:57But, look, if you do the double over this side, which I don't like, but still, I think,

06:00you know, give Fulham a lot of credit.

06:02I think they're a decent side.

06:03It'll be a really, really important three points.

06:05I mean, this Wolves team are trending in the right direction, but you have to be cautiously

06:10optimistic without being too overboard.

06:12Give me the starting 11 tomorrow night, baby.

06:14Well, give it a go.

06:16I think it's unchanged.

06:18I agree.

06:19Okay, end the video there.

06:21I think the one big decision, as I've already sort of alluded to, is Larssen.

06:24If you bring Larssen in and you drop Manezzi, I mean, you could drop Manezzi back into midfield,

06:28but I do think Xhau Gomez and Andre will keep their place.

06:30Unless there's a tightness there.

06:32The players were absolutely shattered after that game, so it's about freshening it up

06:36as well, but at the same time, if they're good to go, do you think you're going to keep

06:39faith with that?

06:40I think so.

06:41And going off what Vitor said in previous weeks, when they had three games in a week,

06:45he said that quite often, and in his experience, you can get the players up and ready for the

06:49second game, but the third game is when there's some problems.

06:52So I think he'll be looking at this game tomorrow night at home in particular, which I think

06:57is important, against a Fulham team that are beatable, albeit a decent side, and I think

07:01it's a really big opportunity for Wolves.

07:03The FA Cup, as much as we would love them to get through, especially you and the barbecue,

07:07is a really important game as well.

07:09Wolves' priority has to be to stay in the league, and I think he'll look to that as

07:12being the third game in the week, and the chance to still play a good side, but to make

07:16changes.

07:17So I think he'll be trying to field the strongest possible team tomorrow with, I would say,

07:23zero changes, or the very least, minimal.

07:25Yeah, at the same time, if they can win again tomorrow night, then they can really go full

07:31tilt in this FA Cup, because you're looking at potentially one more big win, or one more

07:35big weekend, and a turning point weekend, and they're kind of done.

07:37Exactly, yeah, without risking the players with injuries, of course, but I think regardless

07:41of what happens tomorrow night, I think he'll want to do that in the FA Cup anyway, but

07:45it's how many changes he's forced into making due to players being in the red zone, and

07:48tiredness, etc.

07:49The only thing I would say about that, about starting that same team again, is Manetti

07:54looks a lot better going back to winning it, rather than playing in that almost front-front

07:58three.

07:59So, yeah, it might be a toss-up a coin for me, but I do think one change, if any.

08:03Yeah, no, I agree.

08:04I'd love to watch Manetti on Saturday.

08:06I was there.

08:07Andre, mate.

08:08Unbelievable, wasn't he?

08:09Oh mate, he was top.

08:10I can't.

08:11He wasn't mid.

08:12No, no, no mid, Tom.

08:13You're mid.

08:14There's no need for that.

08:15You're below that.

08:16I haven't got a bad word to say, the best game I've seen Andre play for a long time.

08:21Give me the score.

08:23By the way, I'm putting a lot of money on this score, because I know it's going to happen.

08:27Okay, well I know it's going to happen, but I'm not putting any money on it, because money's

08:30all in the bars in football.

08:32I will go with...

08:34And a few clubs as well.

08:371-1.

08:39Okay, okay.

08:41This is going to happen.

08:43You heard it here first.

08:44Wolverhampton Wanderers 1, Fulham 0.

08:47I've got shivers.

08:49For all the build-up of this one, make sure you log on to expressthestar.

08:55We're the ones.

Wolves v Fulham - Liam Keen and Nathan Judah preview

Category

Transcript

Recommended