Fulham v Wolves: Gary O'Neil's side looking to start taking points off their rivals

The game against Fulham tonight is the start of five fixtures that look slightly easier on paper for Wolves – apart from the trip to the Emirates on Saturday to play title-chasing Arsenal.

In this spell, which runs up to Christmas Eve when Chelsea come to Molineux, they take on Fulham, Burnley, Nottingham Forest and West Ham.

Gary O’Neil’s men have proven they can mix with the big boys after beating Tottenham and Manchester City at Molineux as well as drawing against Newcastle.

But in games you would expect them to win, against the likes of Luton, Crystal Palace and Sheffield United, they have not managed to produce the goods, taking just one point from a possible nine available.

There is always context and VAR did not help in the game at Kenilworth Road – neither did it help at Bramall Lane as VAR handed the Blades a last-minute winner from the penalty spot.

Nevertheless, they were perhaps games they did not do enough in.

It is consistency they are looking for, as they have shown they can beat teams around them. They won at Everton away at the end of August, and beat Bournemouth on their travels too, which shows they can do it, but if they have aspirations of building on their strong start to the season this is a pivotal run.

And that is something Wolves midfielder Tommy Doyle agrees with.

“It’s not just about trying to perform against the best,” he said. “We have got to perform against everyone. Sometimes those games against teams not doing so well can be every bit as different as those against the top teams. We have to focus and work hard. It is proven by what happened at Sheffield United when we lost three points. It also shows against the top six that we have done well.”

Since O’Neil’s appearance on Monday Night Football, much has been said about the Wolves boss’ attention to detail, which is something Doyle gave some insight on.

“Everything we do is detailed,” he added. “The auditorium sessions are as you can imagine, teams reviewing what we can do and figuring out ways we can hurt them. Whatever the manager gives us, it’s up to us to do it on the pitch.

“It’s up to us as players then to take ownership of it and put what we do into practice.

“It’s enjoyable. It’s an exciting time to be here. The next couple of weeks should be exciting.”

The game against Fulham this evening will be the first time Raul Jimenez come up against Wolves since they left in the summer. But Wolves will not have to deal with pace of Adama Traore as Marco Silva revealed he is injured.

He has struggled to stay fit since moving to London.