Wolves v Spurs preview: Bruno Lage demands a response

The third round tie will see former boss Nuno Espirito Santo return to Molineux for the second time in a month after a Dele Alli penalty separated the sides in the Premier League.

Wolves, however, were the far dangerous team that day but failed to find the back of the net – a recurring theme in the opening weeks of this season.

In stark contrast, Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Brentford saw Lage’s side put in their worst performance of his tenure so far and he now wants a response against Spurs.

He said: “Of course every time I want a reaction. When we lose one we want a reaction, when we win we want a reaction.

“This is the competition, it is very hard every time. Tottenham come with the same ambition to win the game and we need to be ready to play in our home with our fans and to play our game.

“For sure, we will be ready for that.

“The confidence comes with the daily work. I will see and analyse the (Brentford) game and we started with the confidence and ambition to control everything.

“After that penalty we don’t play the same way in the last 15 minutes of the first half.

“After that the confidence came to try and return in the game. The confidence comes every time with hard work.

“We need to continue to work and improve because everything is not great, but we lose (to Brentford) and in the same way everything is not wrong.

“This is a point for us. Continue to work.”

Despite needing a win, Lage may make a handful of changes to his team with one eye on the Premier League clash with Southampton on Sunday.

Hwang Hee-chan and Daniel Podence may get a start in attack, while Ki-Jana Hoever and Rayan Ait-Nouri will probably come in at full-back or wing-back.

If enough changes are made, too, Willy Boly and Yerson Mosquera may get their first minutes this season after both recovering from hamstring injuries.

Regardless of how many changes are made, Lage says the game offers an opportunity for those selected to stake their claim.

“Every chance is an opportunity, that’s why even in training they need to show me their ability,” Lage said.

“In every game of ours I want to take the best decision and put the best players in the best form in the game.

“First we analyse what we did, the way we want to prepare for that game and then put the best XI to be competitive in that game.

“It’s one game we want to win because we want to do a good competition in the League Cup.

“Every game is a chance to learn something. We did a good game against them and we need to understand the way they come to play and prepare – see who will play and who will not.

“They are a good team and we need to be in that moment, a good way, to win that game.”