Paul Merson disagrees with Michael Owen on Wolves vs Brighton prediction

Wolverhampton Wanderers return to Molineux on Saturday knowing a victory is needed against Brighton to keep their European hopes alive.

Wolves have fallen to away defeats to Newcastle United and Burnley since their 2-1 win over Aston Villa in WV1 at the beginning of April. Bruno Lage’s team remain in the hunt for Europe, but their tricky fixture list means three points against the Seagulls is vital.

Ruben Neves is unlikely to be fit for the clash despite returning to training earlier this week. The Wolves talisman has recovered from a knee injury, but he wasn’t able to train on Thursday and Lage effectively ruled him out at his pre-match press conference.

Influential duo Max Kilman and Daniel Podence are also sidelined, leaving Lage without three of his star players for Brighton. But two of three pundits have predicted Wolves will defeat Brighton on Saturday.

BBC Sport pundit Mark Lawrenson has backed Wolves to get back to winning ways with a 2-1 score prediction. He said: “Wolves have gone off the boil of late, with three defeats in their past four games, but they have had runs like that before this season and they have never lasted too long.”

Michael Owen agrees with Lawrenson, telling Bet Victor: “They’ve had a very good season; they need to finish it well. With sides above them continually dropping points, this side can still finish in the top six.” Owen believes Wolves will edge Brighton 1-0 at Molineux.

The only pundit who isn’t backing Wolves to get three points is Paul Merson. The Sky Sports expert, writing in his Sportskeeda column, predicted a 1-1 draw and tipped Neves to leave the club in the summer.

He said: “If I was Arsenal, I'd be going after Ruben Neves. Manchester United are going to be after