Liam Keen comment: Wolves may have missed the boat for European football

Somehow they are still alive in the race for the top seven but with the upcoming fixtures, their European hopes are hanging on by a thread.

Still just two points off West Ham and three behind Manchester United, with a game in hand on both, Wolves appear to have a good chance on paper. But that becomes a slim chance when you consider the fixture list. Wolves still have to play Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool – meaning they will likely need a positive result in at least one of those games.

However, that is if we assume Wolves beat Brighton and Norwich and right now it is not safe to assume anything of this out-of-form side. Time and again Bruno Lage’s team have been handed opportunities by the clubs around them to climb into the top seven and stake their claim, but time and again Wolves have failed to capitalise.

Lage also admitted last week that Wolves missed out on a big chance to fight for the top four earlier this season – and he’s right.

The losses to Arsenal and West Ham were instrumental in Wolves giving up that opportunity – but whether they could have sustained that top four charge is another matter. If you are unable to beat struggling Burnley then you probably will not qualify for Europe and that is now Wolves’ position.

West Ham are clearly and understandably focusing on the Europa League and also have difficult fixtures in Arsenal and Manchester City – but Wolves need to make up the ground first and on current form it is difficult to see where a win will come from.

Lage’s side have only scored 33 Premier League goals this season – the fifth worst in the division – and Raul Jimenez and Daniel Podence are tied as the leading goalscorers with six each. Only two of Podence’s strikes have come in the league, however.

Goalscoring is a huge problem and has been all season but it should come as no surprise as Ruben Neves and Pedro Neto topped the chart last season with five goals each.

If Jimenez struggled coming back from his injury – which he has for most of the season – then Wolves were never going to become clinical overnight. It is, however, an issue for Lage to sort in the transfer window.

What is equally frustrating, disappointing and perplexing is Wolves’ inability to drag themselves back into a game.

Of the 15 games they have conceded first this season, they have lost 14. The other? The bonkers comeback at Villa in October.

When Wolves went 1-0 down at Turf Moor they never looked like scoring – they regressed following a fairly comfortable first half.

Neto looks off the pace following his injury setbacks, while Hwang Hee-chan has not looked the same since his hamstring injury between December and February.

Francisco Trincao has not kicked on from his good performance against Leeds while Podence – Wolves’ best winger this season – watches from the treatment room.

What does this all accumulate to? Unfortunately, probably an eighth-placed finish.

According to statistics from Opta, Wolves now have just an 18.8 per cent chance of making seventh with a 62.8 per cent chance of finishing eighth. Worryingly there’s also a 13.8 per cent chance of finishing ninth, while every other possible finish is a slim possibility.

If Wolves do finish eighth – which they seem destined to do – it will still be a successful first season for Lage, but the club cannot hide away from the fact that they’ll have thrown away a glorious chance of returning to Europe and that disappointment will be all-consuming for fans.