Molineux Revisited
Wolverhampton Wanderers charged towards the Sky Bet Championship league title last season, which means Brighton & Hove Albion will visit Molineux in the Premier League during the 2018/19 campaign. The Seagulls are unbeaten in their previous four matches at the home of the West Midlands club - most recently claiming a 2-0 victory towards the end of the 2016/17 season, which moved Chris Hughton’s team closer to promotion. Albion have an impressive record at Molineux, having lost just twice in 14 visits, while picking up seven victories and five draws since the first game back in 1979. Nine consecutive victories were recorded against Wolves during the 1970s and 1980s - five of which came at Molineux, as the teams met in the top two divisions of English football. Perhaps one of the most memorable goals scored by Albion at Molineux came back in 2002, when Bobby Zamora’s clever chip earned the Seagulls a 1-1 draw - also thanks to a spectacular double save from Michel Kuipers. Ten years later, an exhilarating 3-3 draw was then played out between the teams, as Albion twice came from behind - thanks to goals from Craig Mackail-Smith and Will Buckley - before Stephen Dobbie’s 89th-minute penalty put the Seagulls in front. But Roger Johnson’s 90th-minute equaliser denied Albion all three points, as Gus Poyet led Albion’s charge towards the Championship play-offs. Two more draws followed - 1-1 and 0-0 - before Albion’s 2017 visit, which saw Hughton’s men take a massive step towards reaching the Premier League. Two goals from Anthony Knockaert secured a 2-0 victory over Wolves, meaning victory over Wigan Athletic in the following match would all but guarantee their place in the top flight. Knockaert's opener came on the stroke of half-time, while his second effort from close range hit the back of the net with just eight minutes remaining - a goal which caused an eruption in the away end.