Jones Knows Premier League Notebook: Why Wolves should be backed to beat Nottingham Forest | OneFootball

Have faith in O'Neil to get Wolves roaring again

Wolves have won just one of their last 13 matches across two seasons and have just been spanked 6-2 at home.

Yet there is little noise surrounding the future of Gary O'Neil - and rightly so. He is 16th in the list in Betfair's next Premier League manager to leave market with 20/1 offered up.

He is the right man for this job.

Not many would thrive in such environments where players are having to be sold to balance the books and replacements found with a strict budget in mind. Ruben Neves, Matheus Nunes, Max Kilman and Pedro Neto have all be flogged to help the club fend off any PSR issues.

O'Neil whinges about VAR like a pro but he isn't one to make excuses about the hand he's being dealt. His work in uniting a group and helping players flourish means he's a real asset or Wolves in their current situation and I'd be keen on backing them next weekend at Nottingham Forest with the prices available.

Why?

Well, they actually were the better side for the large parts of their extraordinary defeat to Chelsea, especially in the first half where Matheus Cunha scored, had one chalked off and rattled the woodwork just before half-time.

Chelsea, aided by the brilliance of Cole Palmer, put the game out of reach in a mesmerizing 14-minute spell after the break. Yet Wolves won the expected goals battle 1.96-1.68, created five big chances, had more touches in the opposition box than Chelsea, made more sprints and won more duels.

This wasn't a performance of a team who had given up on their manager - far from it.

A reaction could be brewing. And the 7/4 on offer for Wolves on the draw no bet at the City Ground is certainly getting a bit of my cash.

The time is now for Morsy card confetti

Ipswich couldn't have had a tougher start to life back in the Premier League, facing Liverpool and Manchester City across their opening two games. They are a very hard team to assess based on those two defeats.

In a certain way, their season starts now with Fulham at Portman Road on Saturday likely to give a more conclusive overview of how Kieran McKenna's team will fare in their bid for survival. However, one thing we do know about Ipswich is that Sam Morsy - their skipper and leader from the middle of the park - is going to pick up cards at a high rate this season.

No player was carded more in the Championship than Morsy last season (14) and he's prone to a card early on in a campaign where suspensions aren't an issue. In his last seven seasons between Matchday 1 and Matchday 12, Morsy was booked 27 times in 63 matches - a 42 per cent strike rate.

And he continued that theme at City on Saturday, picking up a card for a reckless lunge on Kevin De Bruyne. The jury is out whether he'll have the legs and timings with his tackles against top level players - and he's a runner to be carded in the next few weeks whilst the threat of suspension is low.