WOLVES continue their Europa League journey at Molineux on Thursday night as Armenian outfit Pyunik pitch up. WLB debutant Anthony Olsson (@Ant_olsson93) analyses the encounter.
Wolves v Pyunik | Thursday 15th August 2019, 19:45 | Premier Sports
Wolves entertain Pyunik on Thursday night in the second leg of their Europa League qualifier. The Old Gold take a healthy 4-0 lead into the home tie and that should allow the home side to rest and rotate their squad here.
Pyunik clearly face an uphill task and if they were to qualify for the next round it would probably be one of the biggest upsets in European football. Pyunik, which is Armenian for “Phoenix”, are one of the most popular clubs in their home country and are also the most successful having won 31 trophies since their inception in 1992.
Those records didn’t help the Armenians in Yerevan. On the face of it, the stats don’t suggest Pyunik were completely outplayed, mind. They had 52% possession and managed six attempts on goal compared to Wolves’ eight. The big difference is, Nuno Espirito Santo’s men landed four on-target, scoring on each occasion.
There’s a clear gulf in class between the two sides, and I think even with the probable changes to their team on Thursday night, Wolves will come out on top.
The hosts are heavy favourites as you’d Imagine and are just 1/33 with Bet365 to win. With the market so short on Wolves, we’ll have to look at other areas to find value. The Old Gold have conceded once in Europe across three outings thus far and are 4/5 (Boylesports) to win ‘to nil’ at Molineux, a decent possible alternative considering Nuno’s troops are well regarded at the back.
Another angle I like, is in the Handicap market. Wolves managed to score four times in their last two Europa matches and the Black Country boys are 9/10 (Betway) shots to beat a -3 goal handicap here. I reckon there’s decent value here considering a Wolves win and Over 3.5 Goals is offered at just 1/3.
If Wolves rotate that will hopefully have a positive effect with the replacements looking to stake a claim for a regular start. The home side will surely have plenty of possession, and be the aggressors in the match, so we should see plenty of attempts on goal. Overall, I think the gap between the two sides is far too big, and I can’t see anything other than a Wanderers win.
Best Bets
Wolves v Pyunik – Wolves to win ‘to nil’ (4/5 Boylesports)
Wolves v Pyunik – Wolves -3 handicap (9/10 Betway)
