Wolverhampton Wanderers have had a far-from-ideal start to the 2024/25 campaign. Gary O’Neil’s side currently find themselves languishing in 18th place, with just one point to their name. The only two sides below them, Everton in 20th and Southampton in 19th are yet to get on the board this season.
Things will not get much easier for the Old Gold; next up in the Premier League, they are set to face Aston Villa away from home on Saturday afternoon.
O’Neil will know something must change quickly to help propel them out of the relegation zone, and their form in front of goal could certainly be improved over the next few games.
Wolves form in front of goal – 2024/25
It has certainly been a torrid time in attack for the Molineux side so far this season. Alongside four other teams, they are the Premier League’s joint-third lowest scorers on four goals, with Nottingham Forest, Fulham, Everton and Crystal Palace also having scored the same number.
They have also created the joint-fifth lowest amount of expected goals in the top flight this term, along with Newcastle United, who beat them on Sunday afternoon. So far, the Old Gold have created just 5.4 xG, underachieving by 1.4 goals so far, as per Understat.
Least amount of xG in 2024/25 PL so far | ||
|---|---|---|
Club | xG | Goals scored |
Wolves | 5.4xG | 4 |
Newcastle | 5.4xG | 6 |
Southampton | 5.17xG | 1 |
Everton | 4.46xG | 4 |
Leicester | 4.31xG | 5 |
Ipswich | 2.25xG | 2 |
Stats from Understat | ||
It is not like the Midlands club are creating chances much, either. According to FBref, they average seven key passes per game, a figure which currently ranks them 18th in the Premier League, ahead of only Ipswich Town and Leicester City.
Expected Goals (xG) is a metric designed to measure the probability of a shot resulting in a goal.
Their 0.72 expected assists per game see them rank in joint-19th in the top flight. Of course, losing a player like Pedro Neto is no doubt going to affect this. He registered nine assists in just 20 Premier League games last season. However, they are struggling to create any substantial chances.
It is certainly frustrating for O’Neil that his side has not created many chances and are struggling to convert them when they do so. In terms of where their goals are coming from so far this campaign, they have so far had four different goalscorers.
Their main source of goals last season, Matheus Cunha, who bagged 12 times in the league, has just one so far this term. New signing Jorgen Strand Larsen is also on the same number, and so are midfield pair Mario Lemina and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde.
It will no doubt be a concern to Wolves’ coaching staff that they are not finding the back of the net as often as they would have liked.
However, the answer to their problems could have been right in front of their noses just a few years ago.
Patrick Cutrone’s goalscoring record
The player in question here is Como and Italy striker Patrick Cutrone. Once a classic Football Manager wonderkid, the now 26-year-old is finally starting to get his career back on track in the Italian countryside.
The striker struggled to settle down at any particular club after breaking through at Milan. He has also played for Empoli and Fiorentina in Italy, Valencia in Spain and for the Old Gold before finally finding a home at Como.
During his time at the Midlands club, he scored just three goals and registered four assists in 28 games. That included just two goals in England’s top flight, making 12 Premier League appearances in total. It’s safe to say his time over here was not the greatest.
Since departing Molineux and settling into life around Lake Como, the attacker has finally discovered his best form. In 73 games in all competitions, he has scored 26 goals and grabbed eight assists. That includes 14 goals in Serie B last season, more league goals than any Wolves attacker managed last term.
Cutrone has certainly continued that form into the new campaign, now playing Serie A football under the management of none other than Cesc Fabregas. He has already scored two goals in 2024/25 and has one assist to his name in just four games so far, double the number of any Wolves player this term.
It certainly seems like Cutrone could have been the missing piece of the puzzle at Moulinex now, and could have helped the Old Gold convert more chances. Perhaps Wolves made a mistake by selling the striker. It’s funny how football works out, isn’t it?
