Wolverhampton Wanderers play host to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon needing to avoid defeat in order to remain ahead of their opponents in the Premier League table.

Meanwhile, Jose Mourinho takes Spurs to Molineux having recorded nine points from a possible 12 since replacing Mauricio Pochettino in the dugout.

Match preview

When Wolves suffered defeats to Everton, Chelsea and Braga in quick succession during the opening weeks of the season, a minority of supporters took to social media to express their doubts over the progress which was being made under Nuno Espirito Santo.

However, after picking up a last-gasp draw at Crystal Palace on September 22, Wolves have not looked back, with just one defeat being recorded in their last 18 matches in all competitions.

While the 2-2 draw at Brighton & Hove Albion last weekend was the ninth time that Wolves had recorded a share of the spoils in the Premier League this season, it was enough to keep the club in sixth position.

That result was followed up by a 4-0 demolition of Besiktas in the Europa League on Thursday, although the triumph was not enough for Nuno's side to progress through to the last 32 as group winners.

Nevertheless, the game saw Diogo Jota continue his return to form as the Portuguese contributed a hat-trick in just 12 minutes, the quickest ever recorded in the competition.

The 23-year-old has now netted five times in his last 111 minutes of football, suggesting that he is now ready to match the consistency of strike partners Adama Traore and Raul Jimenez.

There were signs that the latter was beginning to look jaded last weekend, but Nuno will hope that having the night off against Besiktas is what the Mexico international required ahead of another hectic period.

However, with Wolves facing Spurs, Manchester City and Liverpool in their next four games, all of which take place before the end of the year, it is going to take a united effort to keep the club in the top six for the start of 2020.

Mourinho will also have eyes on establishing Spurs in a similar position over the next few weeks having successfully helped the club move into the top half of the standings.

While there were positives and negatives to take from 3-2 triumphs over West Ham United and Bournemouth respectively, last weekend's 5-0 thrashing of Burnley represented the perfect performance in the eyes of the Portuguese.

Spurs scored a number of goal-of-the-month contenders during the contest in the capital, including Son Heung-min's mazy run from the halfway line which ended with a cool finish inside the area.

The effort epitomised the confidence which is present in the final third right now, with Dele Alli and Harry Kane having also regained their clinical touch since beginning work with their new boss.

Mourinho's priority will now be on forming a backline which is able to regularly keep clean sheets and avoid the lapses in concentration which undermined their performances at the start of his reign.

Despite insisting that he was not prepared to draw any conclusions after the 3-1 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League, the 56-year-old would have been alarmed by the amount of opportunities which were conceded to their hosts at the Allianz Arena.

While a much-changed starting lineup had been selected for the showdown with the Bundesliga giants, it highlighted that Mourinho has much work to do before he will feel satisfied with his team's efforts.

Nevertheless, ahead of going head to head with someone in Nuno whom he coached at Porto, Mourinho will feel that a statement will be made to their nearest rivals if they can pick up all three points in the West Midlands.

Wolverhampton Wanderers Premier League form: DWWDWD
Wolverhampton Wanderers form (all competitions): WDDWDW

Tottenham Hotspur competition form: DDWWLW
Tottenham Hotspur form (all competitions): WWWLWL

Team News

Harry Winks and Tanguy Ndombele are both close to making their returns after sitting out the last two matches with minor injuries.

However, having rested a number of players on Wednesday night, Mourinho could revert back to the team which began the victory over Burnley.

That would see Serge Aurier, Davinson Sanchez, Jan Vertonghen, Alli, Son and Kane all return to the starting lineup, with Christian Eriksen dropping down to the substitutes' bench.

Barring any late fitness issues, Nuno will almost certainly take the same approach when naming his Wolves side.

Rui Patricio, Romain Saiss, Matt Doherty, Jonny, Traore and Jimenez are all expected to be handed recalls.

Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Patricio; Dendoncker, Coady, Saiss; Doherty, Neves, Moutinho, Jonny; Traore, Jimenez, Jota

Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Gazzaniga; Aurier, Alderweireld, Sanchez, Vertonghen; Dier, Sissoko; Moura, Alli, Son; Kane

Head To Head

Sunday's encounter with represent the 96th competitive meeting between the two clubs, with Wolves registering 28 wins in comparison to 47 victories for Spurs.

Wolves had found themselves on a five-match winless streak against Spurs before producing a stunning second-half comeback to win at Wembley Stadium in December.

However, the visitors are unbeaten on their last three visits to Molineux, which includes a dramatic 3-2 win in last season's corresponding fixture.

We say: Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur

With both teams having competed in midweek, this match is a difficult one to call. While Spurs ran riot at Molineux last season before eventually claiming a narrow win, we feel that Wolves will do enough to earn a share of the spoils on this occasion.