Wolves vs Portsmouth — Tips & Analysis

Wolves -0.75: Portsmouth come to Molineux with their team in pieces. Seven senior players are out, among them Arthur, Murphy, Ogilvie and Waddingham, and Anderson and Shaughnessy are doubtful. Colby Bishop joined that list after pulling up in the warm-up at Norwich. Wolves are the stronger side and they have the better ground to use. They score 2 goals a game at Molineux and let in just over a goal a game across six home games there. Wolves sit 8th in the table, with Portsmouth down in 13th. Portsmouth have lost four of their eight away games, and they do not make much happen. They score just over a goal a game away from home. Wolves have had four days to get ready for this, Portsmouth only three. Wolves are without Jimenez, who had knee surgery and is out until the new year, and Armstrong has a back problem. Mane and Bueno should be back. A 2-0 Wolves win is the most likely score, with the second goal arriving before the hour, and that is enough here. The catch is that Wolves have won by 2 or more goals in only 4 of their last 15 games. Portsmouth also won 1-0 at Norwich at the weekend, so they can dig in. We are still on Wolves, because a forward line this short of bodies rarely keeps a game close for 90 minutes.