Premier League make official decision for Fulham vs Wolves as VAR call made

The international break is now over, as players in the Premier League and beyond return to their respective clubs. Wolverhampton Wanderers will be back in action on Saturday at 3pm with Gary O’Neil’s men gearing up to take on Fulham at Craven Cottage.

The chosen senior matchday official to oversee Wolves’ game at the weekend is Rob Jones. He will be backed up by a pair of assistants in the form of Ian Hussin and Neil Davies with Michael Oliver being picked to be the fourth official. The senior VAR official on the day will be Jarred Gillett, with Derek Eaton acting as the VAR assistant. In their last Premier League outing, Wolves picked up their first league win of the season when they defeated bottom club Southampton by a score of 2-0 at the Molineux Stadium.

Pablo Sarabia scored after just two minutes to give Wolves an early lead - this was followed up in the second half by an effort from Matheus Cunha. While Russell Martin’s team dominated possession, Wolves’ backline held firm - they did not allow the Saints to rattle off a single shot on target over the course of the outing. After their last game, O’Neil said: "[I am] Pleased for the group. They've given a lot and played better than we had today and came away with nothing. it was a gritty performance. Southampton are an awkward side to play against. We had to be patient. I thought we were excellent in the second half.

"We spoke a lot about this week about everyone being responsible. We did a lot of work on out-of-possession stuff. Half-time came at a good time for us and we could tweak it. It was a big clean sheet and I'm pleased for Jose Sa. He's had to work hard since Sam Johnstone came in.”

A look at Wolves’ opponents - Fulham profile

Fulham have surprised plenty of onlookers with their strong start to the 2024/25 season. Marco Silva’s men currently stand seventh in the league table, having picked up 18 points from 11 games. Wolves, by comparison, are 19th in the table with seven points.

Their possession based play has been the key to their success this season. Fulham have completed 140 key passes this season - only Manchester City have completed more [via Fbref]. On top of this, only the Citizens and Tottenham Hotspur have made more successful passes into the final third than the Cottagers.

In their last game, Fulham ran out as 2-0 winners in London derby against Crystal Palace. It was a relatively comfortable outing for the Cottagers, as they dominated possession and created the lion’s share of chances throughout the game.

Emile Smith Rowe opened the scoring for Fulham, giving them the advantage going into the break. Deep into the second half, Palace midfielder Daichi Kamada was shown a red card - dashing their hopes of mounting a comeback. Just five minutes after the Japanese international was dismissed, Fulham doubled their lead with a goal from Harry Wilson.