Bruno Lage has endured a difficult start to life as the manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers.
He has just one win under his belt in the Carabao Cup but the Premier League has been a very different beast for the Molineux outfit. Wolves haven’t scored yet in the top-flight this term and they haven’t secured a single point either.
All of the club’s outings have been frustrating 1-0 defeats, but against Watford they should feel confident of getting off the mark.
They have signed Hwang Hee-chan on loan from RB Leipzig and, in a surprising piece of news, they will be able to call on the services of Raul Jimenez today.
The striker was called up to the Mexico squad for the international break, but with his country on the red list, Wolves prevented him from travelling.
The Brazilian FA and FIFA came together to ban those who didn’t travel to South America but it would appear that Mexico’s FA have been more lenient.
Jimenez was set to be banned for five days, which would have ruled him out of the clash on Saturday afternoon.
Lage said in his pre-match press conference: “We think we can use Raul because the game is about putting the best players on the pitch. The best players from both sides should be on the pitch. I am very thankful for the decision."
He added: "The club talked and we arrived at a good solution. It was the best decision for all, especially for the fans."
This will come as a huge boost for Wolves, especially with the club failing to score this term.
Jimenez has long been the club’s go-to man when it comes to goals. He has netted 48 of them since penning terms in the Midlands in 2018.
You only need to reflect on last season to understand how poorly they perform without him. The attacker sustained a fractured skull in a match with Arsenal and missed the entire season from November onwards.
After that, Wolves struggled to beat the goalkeeper, with their top scorers in Pedro Neto and Ruben Neves finding the net on just five occasions each in the league.
Jimenez, on the other hand, had scored 27 times in all competitions in the 2019/20 campaign, so Lage will be absolutely elated that a player with that kind of track record is available this weekend.
Watch out, Watford.