Wolves v West Ham team news: Three players ruled out and three doubts

Wolves and West Ham meet at Molineux in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.

Both teams drew in a midweek round of fixtures. Wolves were held to a 1-1 draw with Burnley with Rayan Ait-Nouri getting them back on level terms after falling behind.

In London, the Hammers too fell behind after Brennan Johnson opened the scoring for Spurs. Kurt Zouma got the hosts back on level terms to earn them a point.

The Premier League table has West Ham in seventh and three points behind Man United. Man United play Chelsea at Stamford Bridge tonight so West Ham can only watch on as the gap between themselves and the Red Devils could get bigger.

Wolves have a fairly decent home record against West Ham, having won four of their last seven. West Ham have won five of the last seven meetings against them, though the two defeats have come in the last two meetings at Molineux. 

A midweek round of fixtures saw both managers make some changes and it will be interesting to see which players are restored to the starting 11. Here’s the latest injury and team news ahead of the respective pre-match press conferences.

Wolves team news

Matheus Cunha returned from injury with a 14-minute cameo against Burnley on Tuesday. He came off the bench to replace Leon Chiwome but could not affect the outcome of the match. 

Wolves had to do without both Craig Dawson and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde who are still missing through injury. The pair got injured before the international break. 

It was hoped that Dawson, who is nursing a groin issue would return for the game against Aston Villa but that was not the case. A short turnaround between Villa and Burnley meant a return was unlikely but the defender could have a chance against the Bees. 

Bellegarde has a knee injury. Before the international break, O’Neil said he’d potentially return for the Villa game or not long after. The midfielder could get back in to the squad at the weekend.

Hwang hee-Chan is back on the grass and could return to the fold in the next fortnight. He has been sidelined with a hamstring injury since February.

Pedro Neto is another currently out with a hamstring problem. It is the second of the campaign for the Portuguese winger and he is expected to be out until mid-May. 

West Ham team news

The Hammers will welcome back Edson Álvarez into the fold at the weekend. He has been missing for the last three games after serving a suspension after picking up ten yellow cards this term. 

Centre-back Nayef Aguerd is a doubt having not featured against Newcastle United or Spurs. He was in training on Monday so Moyes will have to decide on him. 

Goalkeeper Alphonse Areola is expected to be out for some time after picking up a groin injury. He was replaced by Łukasz Fabiański and there has been no time frame placed on the French shot-stopper for a return.