Gary O’Neil happy for Wolves to ‘punch above our weight’

LONDON: Wolves boss Gary O’Neil is happy “to punch above our weight” in the Premier League this season as a tricky fixture run continues with the visit of Newcastle.

O’Neil and his team have already had a tough start to the season with meetings against Arsenal and Chelsea. After Newcastle visit Molineux on Sunday, Wolves face Aston Villa, Liverpool, Brentford and Manchester City in the Premier League.

Wolves sold captain Max Kilman and talisman Pedro Neto in the recent transfer window but brought in Sam Johnstone, Andre, Rodrigo Gomes and Pedro Lima.

On Friday, O’Neil seemed upbeat about his side’s chances of exceeding expectations in their upcoming run.

He told a press conference: “I’m always excited to work with my group.

“It was the same last season, the transfer windows now for Wolves are not what they were – (Ruben) Neves, Matheus Cunha, Mario (Lemina) arrived for big fees. “We know where we are now, we have an opportunity to upset what people expect from us this year.

“I know there is enough in this group, if we can push and drive we can upset a few and pick up some good results and punch above our weight this year.”

Wolves got their first point on the board with a 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest before the international break but are still looking for their first league win this term.

O’Neil added: “We approach every game if we nail the gameplan so we have an option to win. We know at this moment we are going to play a lot of teams who are expected to finish high up the league.

“Not many people outside of here expect us to take many points but that’s not our expectation. “Our expectation is to show we have got a good side and see what we can achieve.”

Rayan Ait-Nouri and Mario Lemina face late checks before Sunday after the pair picked up issues while on international duty with Algeria and Gabon respectively. Yerson Mosquera sat out of training on Friday with cramp but could be available in time for the weekend.