WATFORD visit a Wolverhampton Wanderers side in complete freefall on Friday night, as the Hornets look to establish a gap between second and third.
Wolves have not won an npower Championship match in 2013 – last tasting victory at fellow strugglers Blackpool on December 21.
The winless run, which stretches back 12 matches, including nine under Dean Saunders’ stewardship, has seen the promotion hopefuls slip into the relegation zone, two points from safety.
However, the former Liverpool striker is adamant his side can beat the ‘Orns on Friday.
Saunders told BBC Sport: ‘I’ve watched Watford. There is no reason why we can’t beat them.
‘It keeps happening to us. It’s just horrendous. Cardiff are top of the league and, in patches, we did really well,’ bemoaned Saunders.
‘They had lots of possession but, on the basis of the whole 90 minutes, we should have won. There were lots of positives to take.’
After the misery of relegation last season, it had been expected that the Midlands outfit would quickly bounce back, but the hangover has stuck around in a most unwelcome manner, leaving the Molineux outfit in a relegation battle with the final third of the season underway.
The dismissal of former boss Stale Solbakken after the F.A Cup defeat by Blue Square Premier side Luton Town was the final straw for the Wolves directors, who brought in former Wrexham and Doncaster Rovers boss Saunders as his replacement.
What has followed has been a continuation of the poor form and lack of confidence demonstrated under the Norwegian, surely leaving Saunders, 48, wondering why he left a League One title push with Doncaster to take up the job.
Appointed Wrexham manager in 2008, Saunders took the Blue Square Premier outfit to play-off semi-final defeat against the Hatters in 2011 before leaving the Welsh outfit second in the Conference the following season to step-up at the Keepmoat.
Hampered by the bizarre Willie McKay experiment which saw the Yorkshire outfit flooded with aging mercenaries angling for a move to a bigger club, Donny were relegated back to the League One, but Saunders was kept on to spearhead the promotion charge.
In early January, Saunders departed the Keepmoat with Rovers joint-top in order to join Wolves.
Tellingly, Wolves have scored less goals (39) in the npower Championship than either of the sides with whom they share the relegation zone – Bristol City scoring 51 & Peterborough United notching 48.
After an excellent start to the campaign in which he scored five in 11, 10-goal top-scorer Sylvan Ebanks-Blake has seen the goals dry up in recent months, scoring just five in his next 25 appearances.
Indeed, during their 12-match winless run, the Molinex side have scored just eight goals in total.
The problem is not just limited to the powerful 26 year-old though, all of Wolves’ strikers have struggled to find form this season with the next-highest scorer being winger Bakary Soko with eight.
Experienced Republic of Ireland international Kevin Doyle has weighed in with five, whilst Icelandic youngster Bjorn Sigurdarson has helped himself to just four during his maiden campaign in English football.
The game will be set to a backdrop of discontent at the Midlands club, with the Wolves Supporters Alliance (WSA) planning a protest prior to the game.
Wolves supporters are unhappy at the way the club is being run currently under the stewardship of Jez Moxey and are keen to use Sky’s presence to transmit their message.
Gianfranco Zola could make two changes to the side which defeated Derby County on Saturday, dependent on the condition of Manuel Almunia.
If the Spaniard fails to recover from a hamstring trouble in time, Jonathan Bond will deputise, making his full league debut. Troy Deeney could replace Alex Geijo up front.
Wolves lined up in a 3-5-1-1 system against Cardiff City last time out, with defenders Matt Doherty and Jack Robinson acting as wing-backs, and the same is expected again as the Black Country outfit attempt to match Watford.
Predicted line-ups:
Watford: Bond; Doyley, Nosworthy (c), Ekstrand; Cassetti, Abdi, Battocchio, Chalobah, Anya; Deeney & Vydra.
Wolverhampton Wanderers: Ikeme; Gorkks, Johnson (c), Batth; Doherty, Henry, O’Hara, Doumbia, Robinson; Sako; Sigurdarson.
Referee: Mr P Tierney.
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