Eng. Championship
2026-08-29 - Wolves vs Stoke City
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Championship
Saturday 29th August 2026 - Kick Off 12:30pm
Wolves
There had been some uncertainty as to how the Wolves squad and fans would react to the news of Sacking Rob Edwards and replacing him with Cesar Peixoto, but no one doubted the quality that this relegated Premier League club have. Experienced signings have been made and Wolves have certainly opened the new season in more confident fashion than the likes of West Ham United and Burnley on the return to the second tier of English Football.
The only three teams above Wolves in the very early Championship standings have all won both games, but Peixoto's team are unbeaten and have also made comfortable progress through to the League Cup Third Round. One of the big questions for any relegated club to answer is how they deal with teams coming to the home grounds and looking to be hard to beat and Wolves dropped two points at Molineux on the opening weekend, which will be something to consider.
Wolves comfortably moved past Sheffield Wednesday in the League Cup Second Round and they are unbeaten in 4 games in all competitions under the new manager and have won 3 of those. They have beaten Port Vale here in the League Cup First Round, but Wolves needed an injury time Penalty to salvage a point against Blackburn Rovers.
Kieran Trippier is an experienced signing, but is expected to miss out with an injury.
Stoke City
Mark Robins will be pleased with the threat his Stoke City team had when travelling to St Mary's last week, but results matter to fans and the two late goals conceded to lose 3-1 at Southampton will have stung. The Potters almost upset Hull City in the League Cup Second Round during the week, but were beaten at home on Penalties and the early season schedule remains testing for Stoke City.
They may have beaten Oldham Athletic in the League Cup First Round, but Stoke City are 21st in the Championship table having lost the opening two League fixtures. The experience of the manager is going to be important for Stoke City, but there will be a hope Mark Robins can turn the tide and finally have this club challenging for a return to the Premier League.
Stoke City lost far too many League matches last season, which is highlighted by the fact they lost the same amount as Oxford United, who finished 22nd, and more than Leicester City who were also relegated. Opening up with 2 Championship defeats means Stoke City have lost 7 of the last 8 in the Division going back to the end of last season, including the last 6 in succession. Stoke City's defeat at St Mary's last weekend made it 8 straight away League losses and the last 7 in matches where they have conceded at least twice.
Head to Head
Stoke City won a League Cup tie at this ground in September 2020.
Not only does that mean Wolves have won 1 of the last 6 when hosting Stoke City, but also The Potters have won 3 consecutive games at Molineux.
Prediction
There are always some funny quirks in Football and that leads to surprising bogey teams, even for the very best teams.
With that in mind, Stoke City's recent results at Molineux have to give you pause for thought, although it has been six years since they last played here.
In August 2026, there looks to be a big difference in the quality of the squads that Cesar Peixoto and Mark Robins can call upon, while Stoke City's sequence of defeats in the Championship has to be a concern.
They did look to be snapping a 7 away game run of defeats at St Mary's last weekend, but Stoke City are still vulnerable defensively and Wolves can take advantage of that.
Momentum is with Wolves who have won twice in a row since the opening weekend draw with Blackburn Rovers, although they will need to get used to dominating possession at Molineux. In recent years in the Premier League, Wolves have felt the underdog, but that is not the case back in the second tier of English Football and they need to strike the right balance between attack and defence.
Cesar Peixoto's team will score goals, but they will have to defend with a bit more authority than they have shown in the opening couple of games in front of the home fans.
Unfortunately for Mark Robins, his Stoke City team may not have the consistency in the final third to really put Wolves under that much pressure and defensively it is hard to imagine them containing this attack.
Stoke City have conceded at least twice in 7 straight away League games and doing that here should lead to three points for the home team.
The Pick :
Wolves 2-0 Stoke City
