South Korean striker Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton Wanderers) will look to make his second consecutive start and third consecutive goal against Premier League bottom side Luton Town.
Wolverhampton will host Luton Town in the sixth round of the 2023/24 Premier League season at Kenilworth Road in Luton, Bedfordshire, England, on Sunday (Nov. 23) at 11 p.m. ET.
Currently in 16th place in the league (D4 L3), Wolverhampton must overcome Luton Town, albeit away from home, to improve their chances of staying up. After finishing third in the second tier English Championship last season, Luton Town made it all the way to the promotion playoffs, earning their first promotion to the top flight in 31 years.
It was a monumental promotion, but as expected, the Premier League, one of the best professional leagues in the world, was not easy. Since the start, Luton Town have lost all four of their league games and are the only team in the Premier League’s top 20 yet to pick up a point, sitting in 20th place.
For Wolverhampton, who are aiming to stay up this season, the Luton Town game is a must-win, but if they drop the three points, they’ll likely find themselves in another nerve-wracking relegation battle, similar to last season.
That’s why Wolverhampton are currently desperate for goals from their key striker, Hwang Hee-chan. Hwang has been the team’s top scorer since the start of the season with three goals in five league games.
In the second round of the league, Wolverhampton conceded four goals in a 1-4 defeat at home to Brighton & Hove Albion, but Hwang came on as a second-half substitute and scored a header from a corner to rescue a goalless draw.
After suffering a hamstring injury while starting against Everton in the third round of the league, which made fans nervous, Hwang Hee-chan made a quick comeback and became known as the “Super Joker” when he came on as a second-half substitute and scored a header from a set piece in the fourth round against Crystal Palace, which ended in a 2-3 loss.
In the fifth round match against Premier League giants Liverpool on May 16, Hwang also started the scoring. Hwang, who started the game, scored his third goal of the season in the seventh minute when he headed a cross from Pedro Neto into the net.
With his goal against Liverpool, Hwang equaled his Premier League tally from last season after just five games, and it was the first time he has scored in back-to-back games since joining Wolverhampton in 2021. However, Wolverhampton were unable to protect their lead and conceded three second-half goals to fall to a 1-3 defeat.
With Hwang’s consistent scoring, Wolverhampton manager Gary O’Neill has no choice but to use his top scorer. Many media outlets have already predicted that Hwang will start against Luton Town.
The Birmingham Mail predicted that Wolverhampton will play a 4-3-3 against Luton Town, with Hwang forming the front three alongside Mateusz Cunha and Pedro Neto, who currently leads Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) in assists with four.
Another outlet, ‘Sportsmall’, predicted that Wolverhampton would deploy a 4-2-3-1 formation, but similarly expected Hwang to start. The outlet claimed that Cunha would be in the front line up front, aiming for the Luton Town goal, and that the second line would be “Hwang Hee-chan-Jean-Luc Bellegarde-Pedro Neto”.
The Birmingham World speculates that Hwang and Netou will line up in a front three alongside ‘2 meter tall striker’ Sasa Kalajic in a 4-3-3 formation. Kalajic scored the winning goal against Everton in the third round of the league last season, giving Wolverhampton their first win of the season in a 1-0 victory.
At the time, the media predicted Hwang to start against Luton Town, commenting, “With three goals this season, the striker should cement his place in the side.”
Three goals in his last five games is an upward trend, but for Hwang to become a regular Wolverhampton striker, he’ll need to perform when he needs to score, and in games where he needs to score.
After the start of the 2023/24 season, Hwang will have a lot on his shoulders as he looks to help his team stay up. Before the start of the season, the team lost a number of key players, including key striker Raul Jimenez and “muscle winger” Amada Traore (Fulham).온라인카지노
More recently, midfield stalwart Matheus Nunes was lured away by Man City before the summer transfer window closed. And Julen Lopetegui, who took over midway through last season and rescued Wolverhampton from the brink of relegation, was also relieved of his duties after falling out with the club.
Conversely, the team’s crisis was an opportunity for Hwang Hee-chan. After struggling to find his feet until last season, Hwang’s consistency in scoring goals in difficult situations has helped him become one of Wolverhampton’s most consistent strikers.
A goal against a team at the bottom of the league could bring him closer to that goal. As he bids for a regular spot in Wolverhampton’s starting lineup and a career high after joining the Premier League, Hwang will be looking to make it three goals in a row against Luton Town to get one step closer to his goal.