Matheus Cunha’s spell for resurgent Wolves troubles Tottenham | Wolverhampton Wanderers

December was always going to be a tough month for Ange Postecoglou and Tottenham. Spurs faced crunch domestic and continental encounters with Chelsea, Liverpool, Rangers and Bournemouth, failing to win all four. Of the eight games this month, they have won two, beating Southampton and Manchester United, the latter of whom they did their best to throw away.

Next up for Postecoglou’s team is Sunday’s home game against Wolves. On paper, a meeting with a relegation-threatened team should pose little threat to Spurs. However, Wolves come into this weekend’s trip to the capital on the back of back-to-back league wins over Leicester and Manchester United. Vítor Pereira has made the desired impact after succeeding Gary O’Neil at the Molineux helm earlier this month, watching his side score five times and not concede.

This will be a true test for a Spurs side that lost their fourth centre-back in Radu Dragusin to injury during the Boxing Day 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest. With injuries piling up due to Postecoglou’s relentless game plan and intense training sessions, Spurs completed the defeat at the City Ground with a central defensive partnership of Archie Gray and Yves Bissouma, two central midfielders.

Even if Spurs were at full strength, they would have struggled to keep one of the Premier League’s in-form players back. Matheus Cunha was again influential as Wolves beat United, scoring an “Olympico” in the second half from a corner, the second Ruben Amorim’s side have conceded in eight days, before providing the assist for Hwang Hee-chan’s late strike. With the January transfer window fast approaching, it’s no wonder the Brazilian has attracted interest from a number of the Premier League’s big hitters.

Wolves can ill afford to lose a prized striker who has been directly involved in 14 of their 29 league goals this season and scored 10 in the new year as they look to consolidate a top-flight finish. Even before Pereira’s appointment, Cunha’s performances effectively single-handedly kept Wolves in with a chance of relegation. He scored the goals he maybe shouldn’t, Thursday’s goal being a case in point.

Cunha’s 6.02 overachievement of his expected goal is the biggest overachievement in the division. Given the quality of the chances he was given, he should have only scored four league goals this season. While unsustainable, Cunha’s last third display is a key reason why Wolves have scored 29 league goals in 2024-25 – just one short of defending Premier League champions Manchester City – and are now a point clear of the relegation zone.

The 25-year-old is the driving force of this Wolves side in the final third having completed the fifth most dribbles (38) and made the 11th most key passes (33), the previous key average for a Wolves side is the seventh lowest possession back (46.6%) as they aim to ease the pressure on the defence. It is this ability to ghost past a marker that will no doubt prove key in Sunday’s game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Not only do Wolves have a very good record at Spurs, winning four of their last six trips to the capital, but Postecoglou’s side remain without key players at the back. Even at full strength, Spurs would have struggled with Wolves’ lightning fast counter. In fact, only Sunday’s opponents have scored more goals from counter-attacks (10) than Wolves (7) at the time of writing.

This is a Spurs team that struggles a lot with transitions. Without the pace of Micky van de Ven at the back, opponents find it easy to turn defense into attack and break the lines with a single pass given Postecoglou’s desire to commit men forward. For this Wolves outfit capable of breaking forward with pace, with Cunha the catalyst in the final third, things could get ugly for Spurs in the capital this weekend.

Wolves proved at the start of last season how effective they can be when there is ample space for their runners to exploit. While Wolves were unable to claim a result in a 1-0 loss at United last August, the waste proving their downfall, Cunha et al have added goals to their game, enabling them to pick up crucial points . Postecoglou may have to compromise his principles – easier said than done for the Australian – if Spurs are to avoid a Cunha-inspired embarrassment.