MX23RW : Saturday, November 9 22:06:21| >> :600:283804:283804:
Nov 7, 2019 at 8pm UK at ​Molineux Stadium (Wolverhampton, West Midlands)
Attendance: 29,789
WolvesWolverhampton Wanderers
1-0
Slovan Bratislava
Jimenez (92')
FT(HT: 0-0)

Nuno Espirito Santo insists Europa League progress is not guaranteed

Nuno Espirito Santo insists Europa League progress is not guaranteed
© Reuters
Wolves host Slovan Bratislava in Group K of the Europa League on Thursday.

Boss Nuno Espirito Santo refused to get carried away with Wolves closing in on the Europa League knockout stages.

Victory against Slovan Bratislava at Molineux on Thursday would put Wolves on the brink of reaching the last 32.

They would move five points clear of Bratislava, who sit third in Group K, with two games to play.

Wolves are second in the group, a point behind Braga – who they travel to later this month – after a 2-1 win in Slovakia two weeks ago.

But Nuno insisted Wolves cannot start thinking about qualification yet.

"We are always confident, we cannot expect things to happen, we have to make them happen," he said.

"We have to play the game, we are ready to compete and Slovan are a very tough team. Competing well is more important (than thinking about qualifying).

"It was an important result (in Bratislava), Slovan are a very good team, they caused us problems and we expect a tough game again.

"We want to play, perform, we are back at Molineux and want to perform well."

Diogo Jota is banned after his late red card in Slovakia two weeks ago while Morgan Gibbs-White is still struggling with a back problem.

Matt Doherty is expected to be fit despite being forced off in Saturday's 1-1 draw at Arsenal with a knee injury.

Ryan Bennett has recovered from a groin injury and should return to the squad.

Wolves are 12th in the Premier League as they adjust to playing in Europe and Adama Traore echoed his manager's caution about qualifying from Group K.

"I can't say how far we'll go but what I can tell you is we will fight every game to win," he said.

"We are aware of these three points but the important thing is to stay focused, we can't think about 'maybe we'll win three points'.

"Each game is important. We don't come out on to the pitch thinking 'win these three points and maybe we're in the next round'.

"It's a new competition for us, playing two games in the week, but the mentality of the team is great."

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Wolverhampton Wanderers' Diogo Jota celebrates scoring their first goal with Patrick Cutrone and team mates on September 22, 2019
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1Liverpool1110102591631
2Leicester CityLeicester128222982126
3Chelsea1282227171026
4Manchester CityMan City1181234102425
5Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd12453139417
6Arsenal124531617-117
7Bournemouth124441515016
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton114341414015
9Burnley124351718-115
10Crystal Palace124351016-615
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle124351118-715
12Tottenham HotspurSpurs123541817114
13Everton124261318-514
14Manchester UnitedMan Utd113441311213
15Wolverhampton WanderersWolves112721414013
16West Ham UnitedWest Ham123451420-613
17Aston Villa113261618-211
18Watford12156823-158
19Southampton122281129-188
20Norwich CityNorwich122191128-177

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