Wolverhampton Wanderers sit fourth in the Championship after two matches, with four points from a 3-1 win over Preston and a 2-2 draw at Blackburn, plus a Carabao Cup win over Sheffield Wednesday on 25 August that makes it W-W-D-W-D across all competitions. César Peixoto takes charge of his first home league game on 29 August and Stoke City arrive at Molineux pointless.
Peixoto took over from Rob Edwards on 15 June 2026, while Mark Robins replaced Narcís Pèlach at Stoke on New Year's Day 2025 and the two have not yet met in a competitive fixture.
Stoke have lost both league outings - 3-1 at Southampton and 2-1 at home to Swansea - having conceded five goals while managing two of their own. A 1-1 cup draw with Hull then went to penalties, which Stoke also lost.
Both squads are at full strength. Wolves have Fer López in attack alongside Raúl Jiménez, who returns to the club as the central striker and André screening the backline as the deepest midfielder. Stoke have Sorba Thomas on the wing and Bae Jun-ho in the middle, with no injury concerns on either side.
Wolves press high and transition quickly, building from the back and feeding López into the half spaces behind the opposition midfield. André screens the backline and keeps possession moving when Stoke try to press, which should matter in a game where Wolves will want to invite pressure and win the ball early.
Stoke set up in a 4-3-3, with Thomas as the main creator from the right - delivering early into the box or cutting inside - and Bae providing energy through the middle. Stoke have managed two goals in two league games, so the question is whether Thomas can generate enough to trouble a well organised Wolves defence.
The central battle is Wolves' press against Stoke's ability to play out from the back. If Wolves win the ball high up the pitch, López has the pace to run in behind a high defensive line and Wolves' attacking full-backs push high enough to force Stoke's wingers to track back, opening space for André to step into further up the field. Thomas's delivery gives Stoke their best route into the game if they can sustain pressure but they have not shown they can do that long enough to make it count.
Stoke won the last three Championship meetings between the clubs, worth noting even if the form gap makes it feel like ancient history and a pre season fixture in 2025 finished 1-1. Those three wins came against a Wolves side that was then in the Premier League - this Wolves team is built to dominate the second tier.
Jiménez wins headers consistently from set pieces and will be a problem for Stoke's centre-backs on corners and free kicks. Wolves' ball retention should also limit Stoke's chances to launch set pieces of their own. The game is live on Sky Sports+.
We are going with 4-0 to Wolves. They have scored five league goals in two games pressing at high intensity, Stoke have conceded five and looked shaky in transitions and Jiménez should cause aerial problems that Stoke's centre-backs have not yet faced this season. If Stoke create anything, it will come through Thomas but they have scored twice in three games and nothing so far points to them finding answers here.
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?.
