Coventry have had a resurgent kind of season so far. Coping with the loss of Viktor Gyokeres, Gus Hamer, and an entire defence of loanees, meant that the summer rebuild was always going to take time to gel.

Coventry have been performing at a level just short of the Championship’s big four since October. At this stage of the season, Coventry sit 6th in the league for xG generated and for goals scored in the Championship.

Their defensive record is also very decent. They are equal 4th for goals conceded, but 9th for xG conceded. Even though Wolves do have lots of attacking players out, they will still fancy their chances of creating goalscoring opportunities against the Sky Blues.

Wolves have done really well to get the results they have in the Premier League. They are now 9th, despite only having the 14th best xG data and the 15th best xG conceded data.

This could point to a few things, and likely the explanation is a mixture of all of them. The team are effective in both boxes, they have been tactically astute and strong on their execution, gamestate has played a part in their data, and they might’ve also been fortunate so far.

Either way, they are overachieving in a very strong league, and with them also having home advantage here, they have won half of their league home matches, they are deserving favourites.

Coventry have lost eight and won seven of their away games in the Championship, but, as their data suggests, they will be a threat at Molineux and Wolves cannot take them lightly.

The Danish central midfielder has settled well since his January move and has established himself as a free-kick taker for the Sky Blues.

Torp has peppered the opposition goal, mainly from range, on a regular basis when he has played. He averages over a shot per game, and he has shot in every Coventry match he has played until last week in his 58 minutes at Watford. He has also managed to take 3 shots in 2 of his nine matches so far as well.

Rayan Ait-Nouri could be an interesting angle for Wolves. It is difficult to predict what Gary O’Neil will do with his attacking options given the absentees, but his solution mid-game against Fulham was to shift Ait-Nouri to the right forward position, which allowed him to cut inside on his favoured left foot and become a shot threat.

Ait-Nouri managed two shots against Fulham, and even from his regular left back slot he has managed at least one shot in four of his last six league outings.

For a player who has fouled his opponents in six of his last seven matches, and completed at least 82 minutes in his last six matches, Ellis Simms has been given a relatively lenient price compared to his peers.

He is now averaging 1.54 fouls per 90 in the Championship this season, and with Sakamoto out, Simms is getting a long run in the team. He is well worth adding into a bet builder for fouls, and potentially a single on the higher foul lines. He committed 3 against Watford at the weekend, and 6 against Plymouth Argyle a few weeks ago.

From the Wolves side, Joao Gomes is a foul machine. He is Wolves’ most regular fouler, currently going at just over 2 fouls per 90, and with the likes of Josh Eccles, Kasey Palmer, and also Callum O’Hare on the pitch, Gomes is ripe for two or more fouls.

If Toti gets a start then he is also worth a dart for a foul. He is a much lower fouler than Joao Gomes, but still averages over 1 per game, and his price is much more palatable than many of the others in the match.

Wolves’ regular style doesn’t lend itself to many ball carriers, apart from Pedro Neto and Matheus Cunha, who will both be unavailable here.

The speed of their transitions is usually most effective when they play the ball quickly and directly.

However, as mentioned above, Rayan Ait-Nouri could be playing in a more advanced position, and even if he isn’t, he is one of Wolves’ most regularly fouled players. He should be targeted by Coventry as a key man to stop.

Coventry, on the other hand, contain within their XI a number of players who are happy to dribble the ball and attract opponents to them.

Josh Eccles has actually been the most fouled Coventry player this season, though he isn’t certain of a start here. If he is then he is a very backable price to be fouled at least once.

The loss of Sakamoto for the rest of the season is unlucky for Coventry, but it has allowed Kasey Palmer more gametime.

Palmer is the most regularly fouled player in the likely Coventry lineup and with players like Joao Gomes and Toti Gomes in and around him, the options for him to be fouled more than once look appealing.