Wolves may find Fulham are no longer a soft touch

Sky Sports Premier League & Main Event, 12.30pm Wednesday

Claudio Ranieri is taking things one small step at a time in his efforts to lift Fulham away from relegation peril and the Italian might settle for a point when his struggling side take on mid-table Wolves at Craven Cottage.

Wolves go into the match as favourites but may discover, as Newcastle did at the weekend, that Fulham are no longer a soft touch.

It has been obvious for a long time that Fulham would have to improve at the back to have any hope of staying up and there were signs of major progress as they a dug out a well-deserved 0-0 draw on Tyneside.

Ranieri – once known as the tinkerman – tinkered with his formation and the switch to a back three paid dividends as Fulham kept their first clean sheet of the season.

Fulham allowed just nine shots at St James's Park – none of them on target – and Ranieri was a happy man, admitting that "every point we achieve is good".

It wasn't quite enough to lift Fulham off the foot of the table but they seem to be developing an identity as Ranieri tries to instil some of the characteristics of his title-winning Leicester side.

Leicester worked from a strong defensive base and counter-attacked with pace and precision.

There were signs on Saturday that Fulham – albeit with less attacking quality – are working from the same template.

Wolves have been playing in a similar manner and could count themselves a little unlucky to lose 2-0 to Liverpool on Friday, having caused Jurgen Klopp's side plenty of problems.

• Premier League standings

It was evenly contested but Wolves fell short because they couldn't match Liverpool's killer instinct in front of goal.

Scoring goals has been an ongoing concern for Nuno Espirito Santo's side, whose 19-goal tally is the lowest among the top 13 teams.

Adding greater firepower will be the priority and Wolves need to address that in January if they are to stay in the mix for Europa League qualification.

Fulham have a much greater need to invest in January although it remains to be seen how much is left in the kitty after their ill-fated summer spending spree.

However, Ranieri is getting better performances out of the players at his disposal and there is no need to panic with just four points covering the bottom four teams.

Eight of Fulham's ten points have been gained at Craven Cottage and they have two big home games this week with Saturday's fixture against second-bottom Huddersfield following three days after the clash against Wolves.

Four points would be a decent return from those games and Fulham can fulfil part of the equation by sharing the spoils against Wolves.

Recommendation
Draw
1pt 5-2 Betfair

Bet on this game at Soccerbase.com

Team news
Fulham
Ryan Sessegnon (groin) is a doubt and Frank Anguissa faces another week on the sidelines.

Wolves
Diogo Jota (hamstring) is a doubt and no fresh injuries are reported.

Key stat
Wolves have kept just one clean sheet in their last ten games.

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