Premier League rankings: Wolves analysis, line-up & predicted finish

Small is beautiful according to Wolves.

Nuno Espirito Santo ran a thin squad to perfection last season as they proved to be one of the best clubs ever to gain promotion to the Premier League.

The FA Cup semi-finalists squeezed into Europe for the first time since the 1980-81 season thanks to a seventh-place finish and they claimed some prized scalps along the way.

Wolves won at Wembley against Tottenham and drew at the Emirates, Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge, while there was also trouble for big-six visitors to Molineux.

Manchester City could only draw there and Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United all suffered defeats.

Opposition teams struggled to penetrate the compact Wolves defence before suffering headaches trying to nullify their nimble transitions.

Only Huddersfield, bizarrely, got to grips with Nuno's 3-5-2 formation. The rock-bottom Terriers took maximum points from Wolves – Liverpool were the other outfit to do the double over Wanderers.

Wanderers are a classy side with experienced Joao Moutinho pulling the strings beautifully to such an extent that Wolves may fancy their chances of at least repeating last season's efforts.

Leander Dendoncker and striking revelation Raul Jimenez made their loan switches permanent and reported interest in key men Ruben Neves and Diogo Jota was quickly rebuffed.

It should be testament to Nuno's staff that they were able to select a consistent team, breaking a Premier League record in the process by naming the same starting 11 for the opening nine fixtures last term.

In total nine players started at least 30 times with eight featuring for at least 3,000 minutes. Compare that to Arsenal and Spurs who had nobody hit the 3,000 mark.

But the Europa League will add extra demands and Wolves need to make more signings, particularly after allowing reserve wingers Helder Costa and Ivan Cavaleiro to depart.

Injuries are part of the game, and they tend to happen more frequently when players are fatigued, so Wolves's European adventures could damage their otherwise legitimate top-six ambitions.

Possible team (3-5-2): Patricio; Vallejo, Coady, Boly; Doherty, Dendoncker, Neves, Moutinho, Jonny; Jimenez, Jota.

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