What O'Neil needs to do to fix Wolves' woes

Adrian Clarke looks at key tactical points and players who can be decisive in Matchweek 8.

Team analysis: Wolverhampton Wanderers

It has been Wolves’ worst start to a top-flight campaign in 21 years and things won't get much easier, with champions Manchester City next up.

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Gary O’Neil’s side have picked up only one point from their opening seven matches, leaving them rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table.

Wolves have conceded an average of three goals per match this season and were beaten 5-3 at Brentford last time out.

Responding to that defeat, head coach O'Neil admitted: “There needs to be a rethink of how we go about things.

"We were open, miles too open. We lost structure, lost shape when we had the ball and were just too open, and we weren't able to defend transition.

"Off the back of the other performances where I thought we were close, this shows me that we're not where I thought we were and things need to change."

Here’s a closer look at some of the problems that O’Neil will be trying to address during the international break before returning to action.

Set-piece woes

It has been far too easy for opponents to find space inside the penalty area when Wolves are defending corners.

They have conceded six goals already from dead-ball situations, the joint-most in the division, so it is vital that they make improvements in this area.

Most set-piece goals conceded 24/25

There are reports that set-piece coach Jack Wilson, who was hired from Man City in the summer, has left. If so, it shows that the issue has been acknowledged and we may see O’Neil take more of a hands-on approach in the short term.

Wolves' defensive difficulties were evident, with both Brentford and Nottingham Forest exposing fundamental flaws in their marking set-up, scoring near-identical goals from far-post headers.

Last Saturday Brentford's Ethan Pinnock was left spare to head home unopposed inside a penalty box that contained several man-markers.

The use of winger Carlos Forbs (circled in blue) in a no man’s land close to the corner taker, while leaving Pinnock (circled in red) free in space, is hard to explain.

Lessons had not been learned from Chris Wood’s goal in a 1-1 draw at the City Ground, when the forward headed in from a corner on the opposite side.

On that occasion, two Wolves players around the penalty spot left Wood (circled in red) free to wander into a pocket of space at the far post to score.

Last season, Wolves conceded only nine set-piece goals, the joint third-best in the division, but without centre-back Max Kilman, sold to West Ham United in the summer, in the heart of the penalty area, they have already let in two thirds of last season's total.

Worrying defensive downturn

Wolves' current defensive numbers in open play are also a cause for concern.

No side have faced more shots on target this season, and opponents are finding it far easier to get into Wolves' penalty area than last season. 

Wolves' defensive rank

Conceding six headed goals already, the most in the league, they are especially shaky when opponents put crosses into the box.

It would be no surprise if O’Neil opts to bring in a third central defender to beef up their resilience from those type of situations.

A "safety by numbers" approach could be the best way to bring about a much-needed fix.

O'Neil brought an extra attacking player into his starting XI this season, switching from a back three to a 4-2-3-1 formation, but Wolves' defensive problems might prompt a U-turn.

Lack of off-the-ball awareness

Not all of Wolves’ issues are of a tactical nature. Individual errors have also led to some of the goals conceded in 2024/25.

Here are three very poor concessions that sum up how lax Wolves have been without the ball.

Inside two minutes last weekend, Brentford centre-back Nathan Collins brought the ball out of defence, moved it on to a team-mate and continued his run, untracked into the penalty area. Wandering into the six-yard box, with no one getting tight to him, he (circled in red) converted the cross, as shown below.

Frustratingly for O'Neil, this is not an isolated incident. In their 6-2 loss at home to Chelsea, former Wolves winger Pedro Neto (circled in red) made a 65-yard run between opponents that was not spotted until it was too late.

His burst was decisive in allowing Joao Felix to complete the rout, with Wolves players watching the ball instead of Neto’s run.

O’Neil’s side led at Villa Park last month, but eventually succumbed to a 3-1 derby defeat.

For Villa's third goal, Morgan Rogers (circled in red) was left alone in a similar way, with no Wolves player tracking his run from deep.

Moments later they were powerless to stop Rogers teeing up Jhon Duran (below) to score.

Watch Duran's goal

While tactical tweaks may improve things, the way that Wolves players track runs also has to improve.

Tough run starts to ease

Wolves have had an exceptionally tough schedule at the start of this campaign, facing seven of the current top 11 sides to date.

Between now and the end of the month it does not get any easier, hosting Man City before travelling south to face Brighton & Hove Albion.

But from the start of November until Christmas, the fixtures do look much kinder for Wolves, with eighth-placed Fulham the only opponents not in the bottom half of the table at the moment. That spell of eight matches gives Wolves and O'Neil a chance to turn the tide.

Wolves' next opponents' current position

*rotate device to see table in full

Losing star men Kilman and Neto in the summer was always going to weaken the starting XI, so the next couple of months will be a big test of O’Neil’s coaching skills and temperament.

The fine tactical acumen he has shown until this point must again come to the fore as O'Neil looks to change the mood at Molineux.