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Wolves: System tweak tipped to lead to positive changes for Bruno Lage

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Image for Wolves: System tweak tipped to lead to positive changes for Bruno Lage

Wolves Fancast writer Gully Kular believes that the club’s move to a back four should allow for more attacking football this season.

In his first season at Molineux, Bruno Lage tended to deploy a five-at-the-back style that Wolves supporters have come to know well under Nuno Espirito Santo.

However, during his only full season at Benfica, the Portuguese manager became accustomed to playing with a back four, and according to the Birmingham Mail, he has now binned the system he inherited altogether having flourished in his preferred style against Besiktas, winning 3-0 in a pre-season friendly.

Kular believes this change will help Wolves overcome the difficulties they encountered last term – but did warn that Raul Jimenez’s injury could change Lage’s thinking again.

Speaking on Football Daily’s ‘Transfer Talk on Twitter Spaces, he said: “The one thing that fans have been really pleased about is the long-awaited transition to a back-four system, which has also seemed to bear some fruit, especially in the games against Besiktas and Alaves, where we kind of had our full-strength team out.

“That was with Raul operating in that number nine position, so it remains to be seen whether we can still provide the attacking and flowing football that we saw in those games.

“But it looks like the players like it, and Morgan Gibbs-White coming back into the fold, Pedro Neto coming back from a serious injury as well – it does look like we’ll be a more interesting, attacking side this season coming, which was obviously a big problem for us last year.”

TIF Thoughts on Wolves’ formation…

Is it about time Wolves switched to a back four?

Yes what are they waiting on!

Yes what are they waiting on!

No! It's ok the way it is

No! It's ok the way it is

Last season, the Old Gold only scored more goals (38) than the relegated trio, in what must have been a frustrating season for the Molineux faithful, as they finished 10th with six points more than the previous campaign – albeit still a far cry from the side that shone in their first two seasons back in the top flight where they ranked 7th on both occasions.

So perhaps it has been a case of the trusted 3-5-2 approach growing stale and teams now figuring out how to counteract it.

Nevertheless, it is encouraging to see that Lage is now getting more of his attacking players on the pitch, although it remains to be seen whether Jimenez’s injury does throw a spanner in the works.

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