The Rob Edwards tenure begins at Molineux on Saturday, for an important Premier League clash with Crystal Palace, and wolves.co.uk provides all the main talking points.
1 | Roll Call
Edwards confirmed he’ll be without Dan Bentley, Matt Doherty and Rodrigo Gomes for his Wolves bow. Doherty is progressed well from the knee injury he picked up at the end of October and trained on the grass on Friday, meaning his return is nearing. Gomes is out until the new year with a groin issue, while Bentley has an ankle problem, keeping him out for “a couple of weeks”. In more positive news, none of the internationals returned with any issues, meaning all will be available for selection.
Oliver Glaser had concerns over Marc Guehi, Eddie Nketiah and Jean-Philippe Mateta, but all three are expected to feature. Guehi returned from England duty early but was back training at Palace on Wednesday and got through three sessions, so should be fit. Nketiah missed three matches with a thigh issue but has trained across the international period. Mateta returned from France duty with a minor knee problem, but trained on Friday with no issues, so has been declared fit for Molineux. Cheick Doucoure and Chadi Riad are expected to miss out, however.
2 | The Stat Pack
Goals
- Jorgen Strand Larsen | 3
- Jean-Philippe Mateta | 8
Assists
- Emmanuel Agbadou | 2
- Jefferson Lerma | 3
Biggest win
- Wolves 2-0 Everton | September 2025
- Aston Villa 0-3 Crystal Palace | August 2025
Yellow cards
- Joao Gomes | 4
- Will Hughes | 5
Clean sheets
- Sam Johnstone | 1
- Dean Henderson | 8
Back from the international break 👋 pic.twitter.com/9oJUjzN8Lt
— Wolves (@Wolves) November 20, 2025
3 | Route to Saturday
Wolves will be looking to start afresh under Edwards, who used the week to get to work with his players, some of whom arrived later in the week due to international duty. The Old Gold’s last game came under the interim charge of James Collins and Richard Walker, and the group showed spirit during a goalless first half at Chelsea, only to be undone after the interval. The result meant Wolves lost their five fixtures between the international breaks, with the late 3-2 loss to Burnley at Molineux being their last on home soil in the Premier League until Saturday.
The Eagles went into the international break on the back of a goalless draw with Brighton & Hove Albion at Selhurst Park. While frustrated not to win the game, the draw stretched their unbeaten run to four matches, after three wins across the Carabao Cup, Premier League and Europa Conference League. In the Premier League, Palace have lost their last two away from home, at Everton and Arsenal, but did win at Liverpool on their last away day in the Carabao Cup. After 11 games, Palace since 10th with 17, representing a positive start to the campaign.
4 | Top of the league!
When Wolves beat Crystal Palace in October 2020, they went joint top of the Premier League table. The night also provided a Wolves debut to remember for Ait-Nouri, whose goal set his new side on their way to victory.
The youngster fired home the opener after just 18 minutes, while Leander Dendoncker struck the crossbar as Nuno Espirito Santo’s side enjoyed a dominant start to proceedings under the Molineux lights.
Daniel Podence swept home Pedro Neto’s cross for the all important second and, although the Eagles improved after the break, Wolves saw out the victory.
Wolves | Patricio, Semedo, Boly, Coady, Kilman, Ait-Nouri, Neves, Dendoncker, Neto (Adama 76), Podence (Moutinho 76), Jimenez (Silva 89).
Palace | Guaita, Clyne, Dann, Kouyate, van Aanholt, Milivojevic, Riedewald, Schlupp (Eze 65), Zaha, Townsend (Ayew 72), Batshuayi (Benteke 84).
