Wolves vs West Ham - Liam Keen and Nathan Judah preview
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00:00Hello, I'm Nathan Judo, I'm here with Wolves Report and Mr. Liam Keane at a glorious, and
00:13it is glorious, Compton Park.
00:15Can't say a thing.
00:16No, can't say anything, but the lighting's good.
00:19Big game tomorrow night, Tuesday, West Ham United at home, Vito Pereira was in good spirits
00:23I think mainly because of the heat, he said he wanted the sea here, but you're not going
00:27to get the sea in Wolverhampton.
00:28Yeah, he might struggle.
00:29Is there a river, any rivers near Wolverhampton?
00:31There'll be a few lakes I'm sure.
00:32There's a lake or something.
00:33Barred around.
00:34Yeah.
00:35Right, let's talk about, let's go in chronological order, let's go with, I guess the main topic
00:40that a lot of people are talking about online, the journalist talked about it, Vito was very
00:44quick to speak on it and that's Mateus Cunha and his comments that he released I guess
00:50after the Brazil game when he was out on international duty, basically saying that he's looking for
00:54a move away, which I guess isn't news to everyone, but at the end of the day he's
01:00contracted the club until 2029, so yeah, maybe when the Premier League status isn't quite
01:06confirmed, a little bit of a poor timing would you say from the Brazilian?
01:10Yeah, it's drawn the gun a little bit.
01:12We all know, it's an obvious statement to make, but you don't have to say it publicly,
01:18you don't have to say it at a time when Wolves are still not mathematically safe.
01:22It makes it look, for supporters, it makes it look like your focus is not on the here
01:26and now and keeping this brilliant club in the Premier League, so that's the problem
01:30with it.
01:31Showing his hand pretty easily that his focus is on number one, I mean look, this guy can't,
01:35this guy isn't eligible to play at this football club for a while either, so.
01:37Another two games, well both games this week, tomorrow and the next week, which is the weekend,
01:40he won't be available for, he'll be returning for Spurs, which is on the 13th now, isn't
01:44it, a move for the Europa League action for Spurs, so yeah, he's not going to play a hand
01:49these next two games, he will be back, in my opinion, he'll probably just go straight
01:52back into the starting XI, Vitor was asked about that and said, look, as long as his
01:58focus is on us and his motivation in training is the right motivation, then I'll play him,
02:02because he's obviously a brilliant footballer, which is probably the right answer, because
02:06also you don't want to leave a player like that and the temperament like that on the
02:09bench, you know, kick up a stick as well, so I don't blame Vitor for keeping him in
02:14the team and playing him, if that is what happens, but the timing was not great, not
02:19at all.
02:20What do you think his team-mates make of it, because his team-mates are playing, they've
02:23got to play without him, they've got four points from the two games, Jorgen Strand Larsson
02:28looked like a different player against Southampton, maybe because he's probably a little bit fitter
02:31as well with his arm, wasn't bothering him, but this is a unit and these other type of
02:35players, when they're not going to be with Mateus Cunha probably next season, is this
02:40two more games for them to look forward to and to maybe see a little eye into the future?
02:44Yeah, I think so. Vitor was very sort of diplomatic in the broadcast section when asked about
02:50those comments and said, look, I understand he's a player with ambition and he wants to
02:54go fight for titles, I get it, he was very diplomatic about it, and also when he talked
02:58about his team's attitude to those comments, his team will also understand where he's coming
03:03from, but he needs players to step up in the here and now, Bellegarde has done that, Larsson
03:07has got a couple of goals against Southampton in the last game, so players are stepping
03:11up in his absence and they're proving that they can be a team without Mateus Cunha, it's
03:15about now pushing that forward into the summer and beyond when they have to recruit correctly,
03:19so there will be more to come from that from today of course, speaking to Vitor with the
03:23embargoed section, but also over the coming weeks and months it's going to be an ongoing
03:27storyline because, and we know the player loves this, he commands a lot of attention,
03:32rightly so in some regards of how brilliant he is, and fortunately with comments like
03:36this, wrongly so at times as well.
03:38I mean he's got a £62.5 million release clause, that'll get sorted out, that'll get done,
03:43you don't need to push the narrative, I don't get it, great player, just not the sharpest
03:48tool in the box for me unfortunately, Mateus Cunha, right in terms of team news, what are
03:53we looking like?
03:54Pretty good, leave it at that, no the one player that was maybe a slight question mark
04:00over him would have been Larsson because of that hand injury, now he played two games
04:03with that fractured hand anyway, but he was withdrawn from the Norway squad with that
04:09injury and Vitor gave a very jokey response to say he can't play volleyball but he can
04:14play football, so he's fine, and basically said 100% we've got no new injuries and everyone's
04:19good and ready to go, let's hope that wasn't mind games and we're going to have a key player
04:23out tomorrow, but taking him by his word on face value, we should have a fit squad to
04:27choose from, when you look at the players that missed out in that Saints game, in Pedro
04:32Lima and Boubacar Traore, Carlos Forbes will be back on the bench for that game, he's got
04:37a few players he's going to have to leave out, I would suspect Forbes and Boubacar Traore
04:41probably miss out, Lima on the bench, but unless there's any injuries he's not aware
04:44of it's probably those players that are vying for an extra spot in the 20, otherwise there's
04:49going to be a few players out.
04:50Come on, we all know Ipswich games on the horizon and I'm looking forward to that journey,
04:54your driving by the way.
04:55I don't think so, you've already offered, so I don't think so, what time are you picking
04:59me up?
05:00Okay, get to my house lad.
05:03In terms of that game, look, there's still a chance that Ipswich could make it interesting
05:09I guess, but three points tomorrow night would, especially with them going to Bournemouth
05:14as well, Ipswich going to Bournemouth, if Wolves did pick up three points tomorrow night
05:18and Ipswich lost, that's as good as done isn't it?
05:21Yes I think so, we've been very strong on this, we think Wolves will stay up anyway,
05:26the gap they've got now is very healthy of course, but it isn't done and dusted, and
05:31that was a big part of the message Vitor was trying to get across there, which was the
05:34correct message really, in that we cannot be complacent, we cannot allow any team to
05:39get a sniff, so the hope right now of those bottom three clubs, I mean, Salamz are gone
05:43aren't they, but the other two, the hope now is almost gone, Wolves are not quite mathematically
05:48clear but everyone feels, us included, I think the fanbase are quite relaxed, everyone feels
05:53that Wolves will be safe, that's where mistakes creep in, when you start to feel like that,
06:00the players and the management cannot allow that to creep in, if you give Ipswich a sniff
06:04and give them a tiny bit of hope, and then they beat Wolves at Portland Road, all of
06:09a sudden it's back on again, so Wolves cannot allow that to happen, get a result tomorrow,
06:14don't get beaten at Ipswich, and I think as a bare minimum there, you're probably almost
06:19home and dry, but you've still got to do that, and it's not going to be easy, West Ham are
06:22an inconsistent side, they've not really set the world a lot under Graeme Potter, but
06:26they've been marginally better, but you don't know what squad they're going to turn up with,
06:31you don't know how consistent they're going to be, Wolves have got to be at home, well
06:34they've got players that can hurt you, of course they do, Bowen, Kudusuk, Front, them
06:37two have been playing in the Front two recently, and there's sort of a new back five formation,
06:41of course we're going to know Kilman, the former captain of Wolves, playing that centre
06:45half, they've got some good players, they're dangerous, but you've got to take the game
06:50to them at home, I think Wolves have got to be on the front foot early, and get the
06:53fans involved.
06:54In terms of team, would you say similar to Southampton?
06:57Yeah, I think it would be three unchanged, so Everton, Southampton and this game, I think
07:00it would be the same eleven.
07:01It's kind of nice having a bit of continuity actually.
07:02Yeah it is, it is, of course without Kunja there, that's an obvious choice, the only
07:06other options are, I mean, Rodrigo Gomez maybe, might be desperate to get an opportunity,
07:12maybe he'll throw a spanner in the works and put him in, you could change the front three,
07:16but I can't see Manezzi or Belagard swapping out, so, I mean, Guedes and Hwang would be
07:20the two options there most likely, Sarabia maybe, but there's no one really screaming
07:25out to take it.
07:26Not battering down the door are they?
07:27No, exactly, and the midfield, I can't see any changes there, same with the back three
07:30as well, so yeah, I can't see any changes, I think provided there's no injury issues
07:33that we're unaware of or anything happens today, then it'll be that unchanged eleven
07:37for me.
07:38Score prediction?
07:39We both went for the same?
07:40We both went for the same, we went for 1-1.
07:421-1?
07:43Which I think would be a decent point to be fair.
07:46I know it's at home, I know West Ham are inconsistent, but if you can back that up
07:49by not getting beaten at Ipswich, I think that's a successful week for Wolves.
07:52Yeah, draw-draw is a good win.
07:54And obviously four points would be fantastic.
07:56Six is even better.
07:57Even better, maths!
07:59But I think if you come out of this week unbeaten, I think that's a successful week.
08:06Of course it depends on what Ipswich do at Bournemouth, but I'd like to think Bournemouth
08:08would turn up there, and I think Wolves would be in a good spot.
08:117.45, more than you, it's Wolves against West Ham for all the build-up on this one,
08:14so make sure you log on to express-and-star-how.com