Wolves v Aston Villa: New and fresh or tried and tested – Nuno has options

Having seen positive signs in the draw against Southampton and courageous victory at Arsenal, will the four-at-the-back system remain in place?

Or, after shipping four in a poor display at reigning top-flight champions Liverpool, will Nuno Espirito Santo return to his more tried-and-trusted set-up?

There are valid arguments for both approaches.

Going with three centre-halves, naturally, offers more protection and that is the way they have played for the vast majority of Nuno’s three-plus years at the helm – they know it like the back of their hand.

On the other side of the fence though, the goals conceded at Anfield seemed to be more down to players just making mistakes rather than the formation being exposed, and the new set-up has the potential to be an exciting, attacking watch for fans.

They really could go either way against Dean Smith’s men.

System aside for a bit though, what we know for sure is that Nuno’s pack will have to be a lot better, in all areas, to beat Villa.

The first half against the Reds was not bad, but the second period was woeful and left Nuno vastly unimpressed.

“We have to look at the game as there are tasks which we should have done better – clear tasks that we assigned that were not OK,” he said afterwards.

“Now, it’s up to us to work and look at the many negative things we did, so we can improve for the next one. It’ll require a lot of work from everybody.”

Nuno, as he alludes to there, will have put his players through their paces in training this week and be hoping for an emphatic response in this one.

Defensively, things fell apart towards the end on Merseyside and skipper Conor Coady, who had a tough night against his boyhood club, will undoubtedly be eager to put things right.

Willy Boly will also be keen to remind supporters of his prowess after a fairly underwhelming season so far, while Nelson Semedo remains on the hunt for his first real breakout performance in old gold.

In midfield, Leander Dendoncker and Joao Moutinho seem to be the most likely starters given Ruben Neves’ underwhelming display in an advanced role against Jurgen Klopp’s charges.

In the past – and understandably so – it had been pointed out Neves was operating too deep and that it was not the best use of his talents, but against Liverpool he ended up too far forward, almost in no man’s land.

Meanwhile, in attack, Fabio Silva is hoping for his first Premier League start, and perhaps his first goal after his £35million summer move from Porto. The decision to go with a fluid front three of Pedro Neto, Daniel Podence and Adama Traore worked in the early stages last time out, but as the game wore on a more conventional centre-forward presence was missed.

And Silva, while he was a signing Wolves made with the future firmly in mind, will be keen to properly step up in the absence of Raul Jimenez – whose father has said will resume physical work ‘in a matter of time’ – as soon as possible.

On the attacking front, Nuno said: “We miss Raul, there is no doubt about what he means to us, but we have to find solutions.

“We have to occupy the space with different players, so we have to work on it and be fast – starting this week – because we cannot repeat this performance.

“The focus is always the same when a player comes, it’s up to us to help him and make him better.

“Fabio is on the process, no doubt about it, and now he has give faster and better answers.

“But we are here to support him, and that’s what we are going to do.”

Ultimately, this is a big game for Wolves, not only in terms of bragging rights but what the season could end up looking like as a whole.

There is still a lot of games to be played after this, of course, but it will be very interesting to see which way Nuno goes.

Although they still cannot be there to see it in person, fans are craving a free-flowing display at Molineux which firmly emphasises that Wolves remain a force to be reckoned with and can replicate their achievements of the past two seasons.

Nuno’s lot have shown flashes of brilliance so far this term and are in a decent position in the table going into this clash, but they are yet to, really, blow a team away.

So, does he carry on with the fresh but perhaps more risky idea, or go back to what brought them to the dance in search of greater solidity?

It’s an intriguing dilemma and, hopefully, the approach bears fruit.