That’s all from me, thanks for joining me and for your emails and tweets. More football right here, the 3pm GMT kick offs are just 20 minutes away. Bye!
Match report
Ryan Sessegnon:
It feels like a bodyblow. We defended very well, compact like the gaffer wants, and were unlucky not to get the win.
Aleksander Mitrovic:
If I shot 100 more times, it would not go in. I did everything right. It was just one of those days. Very disappointed. I feel like I played well but I didn’t score and that’s the most important thing for a striker. I feel angry, I want to cry. Trust me.
Mitrovic looks genuinely devastated. He’s been given man-of-the-match, by the way.
This will feel like two points dropped for Fulham, although they probably didn’t do enough to win. But with five minutes left, at home, against a mid-table side, Ranieri will have hoped for more. Moutinho and Cavaleiro were afforded so much space around the Fulham box. By the time it reached Bryan at the back post, it was too late.
Fulham off the bottom of the league with that point. Ranieri embraces Moutinho on the pitch, they were together at Monaco remember back in 2013-14.
Full-time: Fulham 1-1 Wolves
Probably a fair result, Fulham shaded the first half, Wolves the second.
Updated
90+2 min: Frantic stuff here, the crowd has really picked up. Wolves have a Doherty header saved, and see a Saiss effort flash wide.
Updated
90 min: Coady clears the ball off the line! A long ball from Fulham has Bennett, Coady AND Boly scrambling. Mitrovic somehow wins the ball off all three, skips past Bennett and lifts the ball over the outcoming Rui Patricio! The ball just clips Bennett, rolls towards the goal, and Coady just about gets back to tackle the ball away, before himself sliding into the net. Inches away from a second Fulham goal!
Three minutes added on here!
89 min: Nervy goalkeeping from Sergio Rico, who hasn’t really impressed me at all this season – his punch could have gone anywhere from Cavaleiro’s cross, but fell to a white shirt. I wonder if Bettinelli will get another chance in the coming weeks.
88 min: Fulham hanging on a bit here now.
1-1! Moutinho slipped a nice ball between full-back and centre-back to Cavaleiro, who sent a low cross across the six-yard box. It misses everyone but Helder Costa gives Joe Bryan a bump at the back post, the ball falls kindly to Saiss, who taps into an open net!
GOAL! Fulham 1-1 Wolves (Saiss 85)
A first Premier League goal for Saiss! Fulham couldn’t hold on!
Updated
81 min: Huge 10 minutes or so for Fulham, remember they will get to within a point of climbing out of the relegation zone with a win here.
Updated
79 min: “Is anyone else finding the “one of our own” chants a little disturbing?” emails James Guppy. “The implication is any foreign born player, despite wearing the same team strip, is not ... one of their own.”
Not sure I really agree with that. Think that’s a chant just for a player that comes through the youth system, regardless of their nationality. Invariably, they will be English. Sessegnon was born in Roehampton, down the road from Craven Cottage, while Gibbs-White was born in Stafford, 16 miles from Wolverhampton.
Updated
77 min: That is a HUGE goal for Fulham, who have defended stoutly without much attacking intent in this second half. It’s amazing the resilience that Ranieri has instilled in the last couple of games.
1-0! Mitrovic did really well to bully Saiss and win a free-kick, from which Ream headed across goal. Rui Patricio could only get a nervy glove on the ball and Sessegnon pounced, scuffing a half-volley through three Wolves defenders on the line. By the time Saiss got a block on the ball, he was already a yard behind the line – Andre Marriner checked his watch and gave the goal!
Updated
GOAL! Fulham 1-0 Wolves (Sessegnon 74)
Fulham score with their first shot in the second half. The 18-year-old has done it, off the bench.
72 min: Kamara comes off for Cairney. That’s their final substitution. Kamara looks pretty gutted, but he hasn’t done an awful lot.
70 min: Not a shot, but Fulham finally spring forward, Seri releasing Sessegnon, who is playing as a high left winger. Sessegnon uses his pace to get to the byline, crosses for Kamara, but a brilliant tackle from Boly negates the danger. Better from Fulham.
68 min: Fulham yet to have a shot on goal this second half. They’ve had 23% possession. Ranieri spoke about the importance of not losing v importance of winning, and it does look like Fulham are going to try and hold on for their second successive 0-0 draw.
66 min: Bennett, Wolves centre-back, volleys high and wide. I genuinely have no idea what he was doing so far forward in open play.
Fulham respond immediately to that change in shape by throwing on Ryan Sessegnon, who replaces Andre Schurrle. More “One of our own” chants, this time from the home crowd.
64 min: Wolves make a second change: Gibbs-White for Helder Costa. The away fans serenade the 18-year-old with “He’s one of our own” as he walks off the pitch. Looks like Wolves will change to a more familiar 3-4-3 now.
63 min: Big fan of the commentator using the adjective ‘tubthumping’, there.
62 min: An email from Brendan Pooley: “It would be great to see Wolves win today just to keep up the competition for the Europa League.”
60 min: Jiminez takes a curling shot from the edge of the area. Not in the corner but bounces awkwardly in front of Sergio Rico and the Fulham keeper is lucky that the rebound falls to Bryan rather than any Wolves player following up the shot for an easy tap-in.
58 min: 64% possession for Wolves, who haven’t had a clear-cut chance, but are looking like the more likely to score. Moutinho mis-places a pass in the final third, the ball rolling out for a goal kick, and the Portuguese spends a good 15 seconds berating himself.
Updated
56 min: Wolves moving the ball a lot quicker.
54 min: A question for Wolves and Fulham fans, would you take a draw here?
Tweet me @michaelbutler18 or email me michael.butler@theguardian.com.
52 min: Another cross comes in from the left and Gibbs-White tries the acrobatic overhead but sort of gets in the way of Jiminez and the ball breaks kindly for Sergio Rico.
Updated
50 min: Wolves have certainly started the better. Cavaleiro, Gibbs-White and Jonny have all made forays to the byline without success, although Jonny did dig out a cross for Jiminez.
48 min: Damn those new pred boots are nice. Not quite as nice as the ones in the early 2000s – with the tongue that stretched over the toe – but not half bad.
Updated
46 min: Kamara goes down after a high foot from Boly. Seri picks out Ream at the back post but the American can’t quite connect.
Peeeeeeeeep! We’re underway again.
Wolves make one half-time change, which I’m sure is tactical. Ivan Cavaleiro comes on for Adama Troaré. Wonder what effect that will have on Wolves’s shape.
Is there a better beard in the Premier League than Wolves manager Nuno Espírito Santo? Answer: no.
Is there a worse beard in the Premier League than Wolves assistant manager Julio Figueroa? Also no.
Wolves have been getting plenty of plaudits already this season.
— Wolves Fancast (@WWFCFancast) September 20, 2018
What has been overlooked is Julio Figueroa’s perfectly trimmed goatee.
He’s our Man of the Match. 🐐
👏#wolves #wwfc pic.twitter.com/GsNb7oEzQE
Half-time reading:
Half-time: Fulham 0-0 Wolves
Fulham have shaded it, with two golden chances for Christie and Mitrovic, but could well have conceded a penalty. All to play for.
45 min: One minute added on here.
42 min: Shocking challenge from Chambers on Saiss, who reacts angrily. There are some brief handbags, before Andre Marriner dishes out a yellow card to Chambers. He’s arguably lucky not to be shown a red card, after he escaped a booking earlier this half for a late tackle on Troare.
39 min: Indeed Fulham’s next chance comes from the left, as Bryan crosses for Mitrovic, who pounces on the loose ball, gives both Bennett and Boly the slip but can only sidefoot the ball against the legs of Rui Patricio. That was a certain goal from six yards out. Great forward play, great save.
36 min: Kamara has now shifted to the left for Fulham is creating all sorts of problems. Doherty is playing too high and not giving Coady nearly enough protection.
33 min: Moutinho has been awfully quiet in the last 10 minutes. When he doesn’t play well, Wolves don’t play well.
Do you think Gomes, Neves and Jorginho have all been found out at the same time @michaelbutler18? Because they don't have a change of pace, if you get around them, they can go out of the game. Pace matters in the Premier League.
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) December 26, 2018
I think it’s a pretty simple equation regarding balance. We saw in the Everton-Tottenham game what happened to the Blues without a destroyer like Gueye alongside Gomes. It’s less important for the big teams like Chelsea that can dominate the possession, but certainly a factor for Wolves.
Updated
31 min: Fulham definitely in the ascendency, and are stronger in the tackle now too. Both Gibbs-White and Saiss come off worse in a challenge with Bryan.
29 min: The best move of the match! Christie plays a good one-two and is suddenly through on goal -albeit from a tight angle. Rui Patricio closes the angle well as Fulham’s full-back shoots across goal, the ball agonisingly missing the far post and the outstretched boot of Mitrovic sliding in. Inches!
Updated
27 min: Penalty shout for Fulham! Schurrle cuts in from the left, and scoops the ball up as he tries to go past Bennett and Doherty. The ball hits Bennett on the hand, then ricocheting onto Doherty’s arm. Bennett’s handling was probably just outside the box, but Doherty’s was definitely inside!
26 min: That’s the first effort on target that we’ve had. Schurrle immediately tests Rui Patricio again with a shot from distance, but it’s comfortable for the Portuguese.
25 min: Fulham break with real pace! Mitrovic, Schurrle and Kamara combine with one-touch stuff in the middle of the park, the latter driving at Wolves’ defence through the middle. Kamara pulls wide and pulls the ball back to Christie, who delivers to the back post, but Mitrovic can only head it at Rui Patricio!
23 min: Boly is good at football, isn’t he? Looks so assured in possession and has the physicality to win pretty much any 50/50.
20 min: Gibbs-White has been very busy, but very poor since the opening minutes. Can’t seem to get the ball down. Chambers and Seri are doing a good job at the base of that Fulham midfield.
18 min: Christie makes an inch-perfect slide tackle on Troare, but is penalised by Andre Marriner. Weird.
16 min: Chance for Mitrovic! Schurrle drives down the right wing, sends a low cross over. Mitrovic takes an excellent first touch to get away from Coady, but flashes wildly at the shot. High and wide. But that’s better from Fulham. This is a good game.
14 min: Jimenez does wonderfully well to collect a hopeful high ball on his chest, take a deft touch over his own head, and volley is only a couple of yards over from the penalty spot. Shades of Dele Alli at Crystal Palace a couple of years ago.
Updated
13 min: Looks like the referee, Andre Marriner, didn’t have a clear view of the decision. Saiss looks like he was in the eyeline of the official.
12 min: Penalty shout for Wolves! And it should be given! Odoi is a lucky boy for Fulham, leading with his arm as he defended a free-kick coming into the box. Jimenez got above the defender and headed it goalwards but Odoi clearly blocked the shot with his elbow!
Updated
10 min: Two corner for Fulham after good work from Kamara, both of which result in chances for Mitrovic. The first is a volley well blocked by Bennett, the second a header that squirts past the far post. Mitrovic has started very confidently.
8 min: Traore cuts inside, his touch slightly heavy, and fires powerfully over the bar. He was reaching for a little there.
7 min: Mitrovic bulldozes his way down the left, but a brilliant Coady slide tackle stops the Serbian. Should be a good battle, that, today.
Updated
4 min: Fulham are defending extremely deeply. Lots of bodies protecting the back four. That means Saiss and Moutinho have lots of time to spread it around, even in Fulham’s half, but the visitors haven’t had any penetration so far.
2 min: Gibbs-White does very well to retrieve a seemingly lost ball off Odoi and win a free-kick. Looks as though the young Englishman is playing in the No 10 role today.
Peeeeeeeep! We’re off.
The teams are out. Fulham in their black and white shirts, Wolves in their old gold.
Looks like both teams will be playing a 3-4-2-1.
Our Premier League fans’ half-term verdicts are in! Here’s what our supporters had to say about Fulham and Wolves.
Fulham
Am I pleased? Not exactly. 2/10
Stars/flops It’s fair to say that the latter have outweighed the former. Our summer spree left us with a group of individuals, not a team. Calum Chambers has blossomed in his new defensive midfield role, Ryan Sessegnon continues to impress, Tom Cairney has his moments and Big Mitro will score if given service. At the other end, Sergio Rico has done well behind a porous back line – but otherwise the list of flops is, alas, a lengthy one. A couple of decent results could still change things, though.
Happy with the manager? It’ll have to be a 6/10 for now, while we see how things develop. We remain extremely grateful to Slavisa Jokanovic for steering us to promotion, and very upset that he was sacked – but something probably did have to give. Only time will tell if Claudio Ranieri can get us out of this mess.
Moment of 2018 Our play-off win at Wembley. The explosion of noise from the “white wall” at the end was extraordinary. That glorious feeling of total unity and solidarity doesn’t come around too often – and, as we’ve seen since, is all too easy to squander. Oh, and a personal moment for me – the publication of There’s Only One F In Fulham, a book on our rollercoaster journey over the last 30 years!
• David Lloyd Toofif.co.uk
You can read the rest of the verdicts (Arsenal-Huddersfield) here.
Wolves
It’s been mixed: a bright start followed by a run of one point from a possible 18. But Nuno didn’t panic, made some changes and oversaw some important, impressive wins to get back on track. 7/10
Stars/flops Willy Boly has been outstanding, and people are also beginning to sit up and take notice of teenage academy product Morgan Gibbs-White. As for flops – apart from Raúl Jiménez, our forwards have struggled to make a consistent impact. Diogo Jota seems to be rediscovering his spark, though, after a pretty tough start.
Happy with the manager? He’s a wizard: the transformation of players such as Matt Doherty, Ryan Bennett and Conor Coady in the past 18 months has been astonishing. All three have more than looked the part at this level and that’s largely thanks to him. He also showed an ability to adapt the way we played following that poor run. 8/10
Moment of 2018 The aftermath of that Cardiff game in April: Neil Warnock telling Nuno in no uncertain terms where to go after his side had missed two injury-time penalties, which essentially sealed the league title for us. Other big moments: Rúben Neves hitting a wonder goal against Derby, and Eric Dier firing home the winning penalty for England in an actual penalty shootout.
• Louie Silvani ThroughTheThirds.blogspot.com; @louiesilvani4
You can read the rest of the verdicts (Leicester-Wolves) here.
Ranieri speaks!
I’m very satisfied of how the players are working, but we have to improve because we’re bottom of the league. It’s important to win, but very important not to lose. It’s important to stay attentive against such a counter-attacking team. Our home must be dangerous for the opponent, but we have to play calm and patient.
[Of the change of Cairney for Kamara] This is tactical change. It’s difficult to play in the middle because they press, so we need to break the lines.
Pwopa stadium, Craven Cottage.
6 - Wolves have won six of their last eight league games against Fulham (D1 L1), scoring three or more goals on five occasions. Hungry. pic.twitter.com/Aw9hnUFX5A
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 26, 2018
As a reminder, Morgan Gibbs-White – who has been at Wolves since he was eight – is just 18 and part of the England side that won the England U-17 World Cup with Phil Foden and Jadon Sancho. He scored for England in the final, equalising against Spain to make it 2-2.
Nuno Espírito Santo has been talking pre-match about the youngster.
He’s been good, for his age. He’s always giving good things, he gets his chance now. He doesn’t have to prove to anyone anything because we have trust in him, that he is going to perform.
Today's teams!
Ryan Sessegnon is only fit enough for the bench – a groin injury kept him out of the defeat to West Ham and the draw at Newcastle. Claudio Ranieri’s only change from that game in the north-east is Cairney out, Kamara in: The Frenchman looks as though he’ll play right wing.
Wolves also make one change, as Gibbs-White starts in favour of Ruben Neves who drops to the bench. Gibbs-White is some player, by the way. Excited to see him today.
Fulham: Sergio Rico, Odoi, Mawson, Ream, Christie, Chambers, Seri, Bryan, Kamara, Mitrovic, Schurrle.
Subs: Bettinelli, Ryan Sessegnon, McDonald, Cairney, Ayite, Vietto, Le Marchand.
Wolverhampton: Rui Patricio, Bennett, Coady, Boly, Doherty, Joao Moutinho, Saiss, Jonny, Traore, Jimenez, Gibbs-White.
Subs: Ivan Cavaleiro, Neves, Helder Costa, John Ruddy, Ruben Vinagre, Leo Bonatini, Kilman.
Referee: Andre Marriner (West Midlands)
Preamble
I know why you’re here. Enough of the in-laws, one-too-many questions about how the new job is going, I bet you can’t look at another mince pie. It’s probably a bit too brazen to just stick on Sky Sports in the middle of the living room where your sister is playing that new board game, but a quiet moment upstairs to check the MBM is probably allowed. Welcome.
Luckily, football is here to save us all on Boxing Day. It always is. And a lot like how our Australian and South African counterparts feel about Test cricket, a bit of sport is an excellent excuse to put all that Christmas stuff behind us. Now we can look forward to NYE and Fulham v Wolves.
It should be an excellent game. Last season, in the Championship, Fulham and Wolves each won one game each at home, the former depending on strikes from Ryan Sessegnon and Aleksandar Mitrovic to get a 2-0 win in February earlier this year. You suspect that if Fulham are to get a similar scoreline today – and avoid relegation this season – those two will play a major part.
Lose today, and Fulham will be exactly half-way through the season with 10 points, which means they will almost certainly still be bottom of the league. A draw today means that they will equal the worst ever Premier League points total for a season – 11, set by Derby County in 2007-08 – so at least that’s something. There’s something in me here which senses a win for Fulham today, though, and I’m not really sure why.
Wolves have had a fine season, all-in-all. Thirteen points clear of the relegation zone, they have won three of the last four, and there was no shame in last Friday’s defeat to Liverpool. A win here would lift them to seventh, a point off Manchester United. Not that that is a barometer of success anymore, but it sounds quite impressive, doesn’t it?
Kick-off: 12.30pm GMT
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