Wolves begin life back in the Championship with an immediate test against Blackburn Rovers at Molineux on 14 August 2026 and given that both clubs have serious ambitions this season, early points here could matter a great deal. Relegated from the Premier League in 2025/26, they enter under César Peixoto while Blackburn, with Tony Mowbray back at the helm, arrive aiming to establish themselves as playoff contenders from day one.
Peixoto and Mowbray have never faced each other in competitive football, which makes this a blank slate tactically. Peixoto arrives from Gil Vicente with a reputation built on direct, attacking play, Mowbray brings the familiarity of a man who has managed this club before, returning with a press based system designed to win the ball high and move quickly. How their approaches collide in an opening fixture, with no prior personal history between them, should tell us something about where both sides are headed this season.
Wolves finished last season in a relegation battle that ended in the worst way possible, though there are some encouraging signs, with a 3-0 Carabao Cup win over Port Vale on 7 August the most obvious. Blackburn had an inconsistent end to their 2025/26 Championship campaign and have used the summer to bring in new personnel around Mowbray's system.
Wolves have a handful of injury concerns heading in, with Matt Doherty (knee), Sam Johnstone (shoulder), Enso González (knee) and new signing Rafiki Said (MCL) all out, though Peixoto is expected to name a side close to the one that beat Port Vale: Bentley in goal, Trippier, Mosquera and Toti Gomes across the back, André and Munetsi or Doyle in midfield, with Rodrigo Gomes, Fer López and Mateus Mané supporting Armstrong up front in either a 3-4-2-1 or 4-2-3-1. Blackburn are in better shape fitness wise, with only Lewis Miller missing, their expected lineup has Tóth in goal behind a back four of Alebiosu, Atcheson, McLoughlin and Pickering, with Forshaw and Tavares in central midfield and Morishita, Cantwell and Fevrier supplying Gudjohnsen.
Peixoto wants direct, quick football: wingers driving at defenders, the striker holding play up to create space for midfielders arriving late. Mowbray's full backs will push aggressively in response, leaving space in behind that Wolves' forwards will look to run into on the break. The battle between André and Munetsi against Forshaw and Tavares is where control of this game gets settled, with Armstrong's movement testing McLoughlin and Atcheson simultaneously. If Wolves' wing backs Trippier and Hugo Bueno can push forward without leaving too much space behind them, they should control the middle third and limit Blackburn's transitions, the risk for Blackburn is what they concede on the counter when their press doesn't win the ball back quickly and Wolves will be patient enough to punish that.
Neither side has released much set piece detail ahead of the season but Trippier's delivery at corners and free kicks will be central to Wolves' threat from dead balls and Cantwell's movement from midfield makes him equally dangerous when Blackburn win one themselves.
Wolves 2-1 Blackburn. Armstrong's movement up front and André in midfield are the clearest differences between the sides and Wolves should have enough to see off Blackburn's press once the initial intensity fades. Blackburn's press will cause problems in Wolves' build up and they will probably earn a goal from it but Wolves' direct play is likely to expose them at least once on the counter.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
