Fulham square off against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux on Saturday afternoon looking to build on their impressive draw with Liverpool last weekend.

However, Wolves head into their first home fixture of the new Premier League season eager to bounce back from a disappointing defeat at Leeds United.

Match preview

Playing a first competitive game with a new system away at Leeds was always going to be far from ideal for Wolves and Bruno Lage, it not necessarily coming as a surprise that they lost out at Elland Road.

Nevertheless, the disappointment stems from the fact that Wolves performed well for large parts in Yorkshire and conceded a really poor goal to allow their hosts back into the contest having initially taken the lead.

Lage now needs to ensure that does not become a regular occurrence, particularly during the opening month of the season when Wolves have a more favourable run of fixtures than others.

Aside from next week's trip to Tottenham Hotspur, Wolves are involved in a number of games that they will expect to win, including the one against last season's Championship victors on Saturday.

That said, Wolves will only achieve their target if they are more ruthless at both ends of the pitch, and it remains to be seen how the exit of Conor Coady and arrival of Valencia winger Goncalo Guedes will impact on this squad.

Fulham supporters would have feared a one-sided defeat as soon as it was revealed that they would begin their first campaign back in the top flight with a meeting against Liverpool.

Fans of the West London outfit certainly did not envisage leaving Craven Cottage with a feeling of what could have been having led the Premier League and Champions League runners-up on two occasions.

However, it remains a point gained for Fulham, highlighted by head coach Marco Silva talking up the performance of his side as Jurgen Klopp was left frustrated with his own team.

The Portuguese must now find a way to get that level of display out of his players on a regular basis, something which is achievable if Joao Palhinha is a constant presence in midfield.

Fulham beat Wolves to the signature of the Portuguese enforcer, and it will be intriguing to see how the former Sporting Lisbon man shapes up against the likes of Ruben Neves and co this weekend.

Team News

Despite Guedes having had a number of days with his new teammates, Hwang Hee-chan may retain his place in the team ahead of the £27.5m arrival.

Unless Joao Moutinho makes a surprise return from injury, Lage could stick with the Wolves XI from the fixture at Leeds.

Barring any injury issues, Silva may also be prepared to keep faith with the same Fulham players which earned a share of the spoils versus Liverpool.

That would see Kevin Mbabu miss out on a start at right-back, with Aleksandar Mitrovic to lead the line with Neeskens Kebano, Andreas Pereira and Bobby Decordova-Reid in support.

Issa Diop will only be named on the substitutes' bench at best after his switch from West Ham United.

Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Sa; Jonny, Collins, Kilman, Ait-Nouri; Dendoncker, Neves; Podence, Gibbs-White, Neto; Hwang

Fulham possible starting lineup:
Rodak; Tete, Adarabioyo, Ream, Robinson; Reed, Palhinha; Kebano, Pereira, Decordova-Reid; Mitrovic

We say: Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-2 Fulham

Lage took the positives from last week's performance and will feel that Guedes can only add to his team's increasing threat in the final third. However, Fulham will take confidence from how they imposed themselves on Liverpool, and we feel that could be replicated against a Wolves side who struggled at home last season.

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