Wolverhampton Wanderers host Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday afternoon at Molineux, with three points a must if the Old Gold are to move out of the relegation places in the Premier League.
Steve Davis looks set to remain in charge for the weekend fixture, although it could prove to be his last as interim manager if a deal can be completed to bring Julen Lopetegui to the club before the World Cup break.
Wolves halted their recent rut with a 1-1 draw against Brentford last weekend but will need to be at their best if they want to take three points a Brighton side which will be full of confidence after demolishing Chelsea 4-1 last time out.
If the Old Gold are to stop the Seagulls then they will need to find a way to limit star performer Leandro Trossard, with the Belgian continuing to catch the eye after notching seven goals and one assist in 12 Premier League appearances so far this season.
The left-winger could cause all sorts of problems with his trickery at Molineux and for that reason, Davis should drop Nelson Semedo, as the Portuguese defender has proven himself to be a defensive “liability” – in the words of The Athletic’s Tim Spiers- on a number of occasions since joining the club from Barcelona.
While Semedo can offer Wolves something in attack, the prospect of him going up against the dangerous Trossard will no doubt be a frightening one for Davis, and he might be better selecting the more defensively aware Jonny on the right-hand side, with the Portugal international admitting during his time at Barcelona that he preferred attacking to defending.
The Belgium international has scored highly in terms of dribbles, key passes and shots per game in Brighton’s squad, so the Old Gold can be sure that a lot of the opposition’s attacks will come down the left-hand side at the weekend, which could leave Semedo in real trouble.
The 28-year-old was arguably at fault for both of Crystal Palace‘s goals in the 2-1 defeat at Selhurst Park recently, with Birmingham Live awarding him a 4/10 for his performance after he lost Eberechi Eze for the first before failing to track Wilfried Zaha for the winner.
Therefore, it seems risky to start him against such an in-form player in Trossard, so Davis should ditch Semedo from the starting team on Saturday.
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