Lopetegui changes both wingers with surprise formation choice - Wolves predicted XI v Southampton - gallery

Here’s how we predict Wolverhampton Wanderers’ starting lineup to look against Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday.

Wolverhampton Wanderers will be hoping to build on their impressive 3-0 win over Liverpool as they take on Southampton in a huge Premier League six-pointer on Saturday. Heading away to St Mary’s Stadium, there is plenty of pressure on Julen Lopetegui to get a positive result as both sides are deep in a relegation battle.

Even with the shock victory last weekend, Wolves are still just two points above the bottom three after 21 matches played. Wanderers also remain statistically the worse goalscoring side in the division, so there is plenty still to be done until they can be considered safe from the drop.

Southampton are in major trouble as things stand, with just 15 points collected so far this term. Relieving old manager Ralph Hassenhuttl of his duties does not seem to have made the difference they hoped, with new head coach Nathan Jones already on thin ice despite only taking over at the start of November.

Saints did earn a huge three points away at Everton a few weeks ago but they have been thrust back into another rut since, with two straight defeats without a single goal scored. Wolves will be confident but they will need to be wary still, with so much on the line in a must-win for the home side.

Lopetegui switched things up at Molineux last Saturday with a 4-4-2 formation used rather than a 4-3-3 and we think he will stay with that. It surprised a lot of people, likely including Jurgen Klopp, and it was very effective. With that in mind, here is our predicted starting XI vs Saints. See below.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.