Wolves 1 Empoli 1 - Report

Julen Lopetegui picked a strong starting eleven following a late change of venue and delayed kick-off due to a waterlogged pitch following heavy overnight rain.

Joao Moutinho took the captain's armband in the absence of Ruben Neves and there were starts for Gonalo Guedes, Adama Traore and Diego Costa in a front three.

Nathan Collins and Max Kilman continued their defensive partnership and were flanked by Hugo Bueno and Nelson Semedo in a back four with Joe Hodge and Boubacar Traore supporting Moutinho in the middle. Raul Jimenez and Daniel Podence were named amongst the substitutes.

Wolves took control of the game in the early stages with both Costa and Traore taking up wide positions and Guedes enjoying plenty of the ball in a high press formation.

Costa, who has now served his three match ban after his sending-off at Brentford, came close to giving Wolves an early lead following excellent work from Guedes on the right hand side.

(Adama) Traore looked the most threatening player on the pitch and was unlucky not to get on the end of an excellent Bueno cross.

Wolves were dominant in possession, but continued to give away silly fouls against their Serie A opponents, most notably (Boubacar) Traore and Costa.

But Lopetegui's men were rewarded for their dominance when Hugo Bueno unleashed a stunning left-footed strike from the edge of the box into the bottom corner giving keeper Samir Ujkani no chance.

Empoli almost equalised before the break when Liam Henderson's free-kick deflected off Nathan Collins and onto the crossbar with Matija Sarkic beaten.

The second half saw a plethora of changes from both sides with Rayan Ait Nouri and Toti Gomes coming on at half-time replacing goalscorer Bueno and Collins respectively.

Ait Nouri got into some nice positions, but failed to shoot when invited after working well with a slightly more advanced Moutinho.

Raul Jimenez, fresh from Mexico's World Cup exit, was introduced on the hour, his first appearance in a Wolves shirt since the 0-0 draw with Bournemouth back in August.

Daniel Podence was also given some time to impress his new manager, but it was Empoli who were looked the more threatening and got a deserved equaliser through Sam Lammers.

A clever ball over the top of Wolves' defence exposed their high line and the Dutchman expertly controlled the ball on the edge of the box and curled a delightful shot into the far corner giving Sarkic no chance.

More substitutions unsurprisingly stifled a previously open game before an ugly incident threatened to overshadow the entire match.

Podence looked to be involved in an innocuous scuffle off the ball, but then appeared to throw a punch as both teammates and staff tried to calm the situation down.

The Wolves forward was one of four players sent off in a pre-season friendly with Levante in what was dubbed, 'The Battle of Benidorm' in July.

Thankfully for the Portuguese international, it was just a stern warning as play was restarted.

Sarkic made a good save in the dying minutes as both sides shared the spoils.

Wolves face Cadiz on Wednesday before returning home ahead of their Carabao Cup clash with Gillingham.

Wolves: Sarkic, Semedo (Lembikisa 65), Collins (Gomes 45), Kilman (Mosquera 65), Bueno (Ait Nouri 45), B.Traore (Tipton 72), Hodge (Griffiths 72), Moutinho (Ronan 60), A.Traore (Farmer 65) (Roberts 85), Costa (Raul 60), Guedes (Podence 60).