Wolverhampton Wanderers face a trip to Old Trafford next in the Premier League to face Manchester United, as Julen Lopetegui’s team look to end the season on a high in their final three fixtures.
Wolves will be full of confidence after reigning victorious over local rivals Aston Villa last weekend in a 1-0 win at Molineux.
Having just 38% of possession in the game, Toti Gomes’ goal in the opening ten minutes proved vital for the hosts, who have struggled to score all season.
While the victory was against Unai Emery’s in-form Villa side, the trip to Old Trafford will be a tougher challenge, with the hosts desperate for a win to remain as leaders of the pack in the race for the top four.
United have stumbled in their last two games, losing 1-0 to both Brighton & Hove Albon and West Ham United as their bid for Champions League football took a wobble. Despite still remaining in fourth place, Erik ten Hag’s side can’t afford to drop points again with a host of clubs fighting for the spot.
Loptegeui’s side will be reviewing the Red Devils’ weaknesses in recent fixtures, and aim to exploit them to get something from the game at Old Trafford.
One area for change has to be who leads the line for the visitors, with Diego Costa struggling to perform last time out.
Should Hee-Chan Hwang start ahead of Diego Costa against Manchester United?
United have suffered a significant double injury blow in central defence that has altered their performances towards the end of the season.
With no Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez, Wolves should pry on ten Hag’s makeshift defence, which he can do by replacing Costa with Hwang Hee-chan in the starting lineup.
The Spaniard scored a poor 6.2 rating, as per Sofascore, against Villa last time out, and was replaced late on having made little impact on the game.
Lopetegui will need to inflict pace and directness against United if Wolves are to snatch anything from the Theatre of Dreams to take back to Molineux, attributes that the club's £14m signing could offer the side instead.
Lauded by Ian Wright as having “everything”, the former Arsenal legend expressed his delight in watching the South Korean striker whilst analysing Wolves’ win over Newcastle United on Match of the Day last season.
“He’s got pace, skill, touch and awareness and he’s always driving to get into the box.”
Known as ‘The Bull” by former RB Leipzig teammates, the 27-year-old is a livewire both on and off the ball, having once admitted himself to be "fearless" and "aggressive" to Sky Sports.
Averaging 0.91 successful take-ons per 90 minutes, Hwang is direct on the ball, which is also shown through his high scoring in shot-creating actions, averaging 2.23 per 90, via FBref.
Costa ranks lower for both attributes, winning an average of 0.32 take-ons per 90, as well as making just 1.73 shot-creating actions – showing that Hee-Chan is the more direct threat out of the two.
Therefore, Lopetegui could punish United for their poor luck with defensive injuries, should he unleash Hee-chan from the off this afternoon.
