Preview: Brighton home

How times change...

This weekend Wolves are up against a real bogey side for them when Brighton visit Molineux. We struggle to really perform well against Brighton, and only have 5 wins to our name in our 22 meetings with the South-Coast side. Having said that, we are actually unbeaten in our last 4 games against them. However, our last meeting with them stretches all the way back to the 22nd April 2006. That day was the last home game of the 2005/06 season and was to ultimately be the last home game under Glenn Hoddle. It was also the last home game for much of our "Golden Era" squad - the likes of Lescott, Cameron, Kennedy and Miller who had become synonymous with the club over the years.

Poyet: Could've been Wolves boss

However, the Brighton side we faced that day is very different from the side Mark McGhee brought to Molineux that day. They're now under the stewardship of Gus Poyet - a man targeted by Wolves to replace Mick McCarthy last season - and play some very attractive football whilst remaining very tight at the back. Indeed, Brighton have actually conceded the fewest goals in the division, with only 11 strikes getting past them. Going forward they contain some real quality, with flair players such as Vicente and Will Buckley supplying star-striker Craig Mackail-Smith with the chances he needs. That said, goalmouth action at either end isn't Brighton's specialty. Games involving Brighton have thrown up the League's lowest goals tally with 30 (scoring only 19 and conceding 11). They have failed to score in 6 of their games this season, and all four of their defeats have been 1-0. This highlights just how hard it is to score against Brighton, but also that they don't pose a great threat of their own. Indeed they had to wait until the 90th minute to snatch a winner against a resilient Peterborough side at the AMEX on Tuesday night.

Sigurdarson: Worth trying with Ebanks-Blake

Brighton are clearly a very well-drilled, organised side. The same, too, could be said of Wolves. Solbakken is clearly trying to build from the back and make sure we're tight defensively. Ironically this is something we haven't been of late, conceding 2 goals in 4 of our last 5 games. We've not been too impressive going forward either. So far at Molineux this season we've averaged only 1.57 goals per game. We're not really playing well either, with very little movement coming from the forward players. Sako is looking a shadow of his former self and Pennant has been hugely disappointing. I would love to see Sigurdarson and Ebanks-Blake upfront together tomorrow. Siggy and Doyle just do not work, and I'd be intrigued to see how the big-man/little-man combination would work between Siggy and SEB.

Either way, I can see it being a very tight game with neither side really throwing caution to the wind. I think it will be a game based on keeping the ball for long periods and trying to suss each other out. However, this is the Championship and for all we know, this could be a 4-4 classic. Unlikely though.

Prediction: Wolves 0-0 Brighton

In Stale We Trust.