Swansea City may not be the most glamorous of Worthington Cup ties but it does provide Wolves with a distinct possibility of progressing through to the next stage.
We all know about the previous seasons embarrassments but I think the days of cup defeats by Swindon and Wycombe (twice) are behind us now (I hope!).
With the defeat by Wimbledon still in the system, I know that Jonesy will want a good performance, on top of the right result, to get Wolves back on track before they head off again to Selhurst Park on Saturday.
With no injuries from the international weekend and hopefully Paul Ince once again available, Jones should have, with the exception of the known casualties, a full squad to pick from.
Given that there were so many poor performances in the Wimbledon game players will be hoping to impress to remain in the starting eleven for the domestic fixtures to come.
Having conceded 5 goals in two games, I’m sure that a clean sheet is a must and that Butler and Naylor will have worked out who goes where on the training pitch to fill the wholes that have alarmingly appeared recently.
Swansea are not doing very well, fortunately for us.
They have just the one victory in seven league games and boast an indifferent record at home.
However, they are capable of scoring goals so they shouldn’t be totally under-estimated.
They will be fired up to prove that they are as good as there Division 1 counterparts and Wolves shouldn’t go there expecting to just turn up and win. If we are professional and just bide our time, then hopefully the quality will tell over the 90 minutes.
Expect to see Oakesy back in goal after his injury. We could also see a debut for Mark Edworthy should Jones decide this is the game to try a different combination of fullbacks.
I also have a sneaky feeling that Jones might change the formation to 4-3-3 playing Miller, Blake and Sturridge in forward roles.
The game is on Sky, which has lowered the number of visiting fans expected down in South Wales.
However, for once this gives me a chance to see a game that I’d not be able to get to. I’ve just got to convince the pub manager to put the game on rather than the pay-per-view alternative (Newcastle v Leeds) in Manchester.
I expect Wolves to win. I have a feeling for 2-0.
I also have a gut feeling that we are going to be drawn against one of our Midlands rivals in the next round – let’s hope so!
A good victory will set us up nicely for another away day at Palace on Saturday.
Come on the Wolves.
E-mail me with any comments/feedback to: dave@wolves-mad.co.uk