Saturday afternoon at Molineux isn’t just football. It’s desperation in its rawest form. Wolves, bottom of the Premier League, clawing at the dirt for their first point, against a Leeds United side who’ve stumbled into the top flight with more grit than glamour. This isn’t some mid-table skirmish to pass the time — it’s an early-season relegation six-pointer, dripping with tension, where victory could mean breathing space and defeat could mean drowning before the leaves have even fallen.
And make no mistake: both sets of supporters know it. Leeds will travel down the M6 in their thousands, roaring with the fury of that freakish last-minute own goal against Fulham — Gabriel Gudmundsson swinging a wrecking ball into his own net. Wolves fans, meanwhile, stare into the void, wondering if they’re about to watch the worst start in their club’s 148-year league history spiral into the abyss.
Wolves: A Pack Without Teeth
Let’s call it what it is: Wolves are a mess. Four games, four defeats, two goals scored, and a defense that leaks like a cracked bucket. They’ve lost eight of their last nine league games at Molineux, conceding 28 in the process. This isn’t just bad — it’s historically catastrophic.
And yet, in the middle of the collapse, Vítor Pereira somehow walks away with a shiny new three-year contract. Loyalty? Madness? Or just Wolves brass too stubborn to admit their mistakes? Pereira’s war cry in midweek tried to sound noble: “If the wolf is in pain it is time for the pack to be united and show the strength of the pack.” Poetic. But poetry doesn’t win points.
Jørgen Strand Larsen — their supposed talisman — has barely laced his boots thanks to an Achilles problem. He’s back in training, sure, but he’s not fit to lead the line for 90 minutes. That leaves Wolves relying on Tolu Arokodare, a £24m signing who has yet to score and carries the aura of a man searching for his first goal in the Sunday League, never mind the Premier League.
At the back, it’s chaos. Ladislav Krejčí and new captain Toti might be willing, but the structure is gone. Wolves have already conceded a league-high eight goals from open play. This isn’t a team defending badly — it’s a team not defending at all.
And yet, Chris Sutton of all people is predicting a Wolves win. That Pereira’s contract will spark some sort of “new dawn.” Forgive the cynicism, but Wolves look less like a sunrise and more like a total eclipse.
Leeds: The Underdog That Won’t Sit Down
Leeds, on the other hand, are punching upwards. Four points from four games. A defense that looks — dare we say — solid. Only 11 shots on target conceded, joint-third best in the league. Daniel Farke’s men have traded swashbuckling chaos for grinding resilience, a transition that makes their football “boring or frustrating” but undeniably effective.
The problem? Goals. Leeds haven’t scored from open play this season. Not once. Their only goal was Lukas Nmecha’s penalty. Dominic Calvert-Lewin, the free transfer gamble, hasn’t scored in 2025 and never scored against Wolves in seven previous attempts. Noah Okafor? Runs a lot, delivers little. Injuries to Daniel James and Willy Gnonto leave the frontline looking toothless.
But there is hope. Anton Stach, the €20m midfield monster, has created 10 chances and taken 10 shots — the only Premier League player to hit double figures in both categories this season. He looks like a one-man engine room, but without a striker to finish his work, it’s been like watching an architect design cathedrals that no one bothers to build.
And then there’s Jack Harrison. Leeds’ history-maker at Molineux, with goals in three of his last four league trips here. He knows this ground. He knows how to silence it. If Farke gives him the nod, he could turn the whole afternoon.
Farke himself is cautious, almost too cautious: “We also stay humble. We know as a newly promoted side in an away game, we are always the underdog… We don’t travel with fear. We travel there knowing they will be highly motivated.” Humility is admirable, but this is the Premier League, where humility often gets eaten alive.
Chaos Written Into the Fixture
This game has history — and history says chaos. Leeds have won three straight league meetings against Wolves, last done in Don Revie’s golden era of 1971. The last two at Molineux? Utter madness.
March 2022: Wolves 2-0 up, Raul Jimenez sent off, Leeds come back to win 3-2. A collapse for the ages.
March 2023: Leeds win 4-2, Wolves see two red cards, and Jonny Otto scores a ridiculous 40-yard lob before being sent off himself. Referees losing their minds, Wolves losing their discipline, Leeds taking full advantage.
And let’s not forget 1972, when Wolves beat Leeds 2-1 on the final day, denying them the league and cup double and handing the title to Derby County. A game so shrouded in controversy that whispers of match-fixing still haunt it.
This fixture doesn’t do boring. Not now. Not ever.
The Stakes: Seven Points That Feel Like Seventy
Here’s the kicker: if Leeds win, they open up a seven-point gap over Wolves. In September, that’s enormous. That’s breathing space, confidence, momentum. For Wolves, it’s the difference between clinging on and sinking like a stone.
Lose here, and the narrative isn’t about scraping survival anymore — it’s about whether Wolves could rival Derby County’s infamous 11-point season for sheer ineptitude. Win, and Pereira has his foothold, a chance to prove that his contract extension wasn’t an act of lunacy.
Prediction: Fire or Failure
Prediction: Fire or Failure
The betting market can’t split them — Wolves at 8/5, Leeds at 13/8. Pundits are split too, with predictions ranging from Wolves nicking it 1-0, to a 1-1 draw, to Leeds landing the knockout blow.
But here’s the Doragon truth: Wolves are bleeding, and a wounded pack is dangerous. Pereira’s contract might just light a fire under them, and Strand Larsen’s cameo could flip the mood. Yet Leeds, with Harrison prowling and Stach demanding more, smell weakness.
This is going to be ugly. Wet Midlands air, anxious groans, tackles flying, and one mistake defining everything.
Final call? Leeds 2-1. Harrison to score again at Molineux, Wolves to sink deeper into the abyss.
Because in games like this, history repeats itself. And for Wolves, history has been nothing but pain
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