Nuno Espirito Santo insists Wolves’ sole focus is on beating Slovan Bratislava on Thursday in the Europa League. Last month’s 2-1 victory in the Slovakian capital left Nuno’s side second at the halfway stage of Group K and another win would take them to the brink of a place in the knockout rounds.
After losing their opening fixtures to Braga, Wolves have beaten both Besiktas and Slovan on the road and will hope to enjoy home comforts on Thursday at Molineux.
With Braga away and Besiktas at home for their remaining two fixtures, this match could be the key to their hopes of qualifying and Nuno is not taking anything for granted.
Following a tough start to the season, the Black County club have got their act together in recent months, avoiding defeat in their last six in the Premier League to move up to 12th in the standings.
Injuries mean Nuno will need to rotate on Thursday but both Ryan Bennett and Matt Doherty are set to be fit. However, Diogo Jota is suspended and Morgan Gibbs-White is nursing a back problem.
Even with their absentees, Wolves look far stronger on paper than Slovan but their Portuguese coach is unwilling to entertain such thoughts.
The 45-year-old admits belief is high within the camp but insists that will not be enough to carry his team to a win. “We are always confident, we cannot expect things to happen, we have to make them happen,” he said. “We have to play the game, we are ready to compete and Slovan are a very tough team. Competing well is more important (than thinking about qualifying).”
A victory for Wolves will set them up nicely as they prepare to face local rivals Aston Villa on Sunday before travelling to Bournemouth on the other side of the international break.
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