Dave Edwards: Wolves on the right track with Julen Lopetegui

Wolves have improved gradually over the last three games and against a good Manchester United side, I think they equipped themselves really well.

They had a lot of moments where they got into good areas, but the final action let them down.

I think they probably edged United in the first half, which was very promising.

The manager will be happy with how his side’s developing. They’re definitely moving in the right direction.

The biggest issue is putting the ball in the back of the net. The Raul Jimenez header was the only clear-cut chance, and United had a player in Marcus Rashford to change the game. A lot of the Wolves players haven’t got the confidence at the moment to take a chance. They need someone inside the penalty area who will attack the ball and get across defenders.

Wolves are playing with wide players and putting crosses in, but there’s nothing in there. Diego Costa isn’t attacking the ball like you’d expect him to.

That is the obvious area where Wolves have to improve and hopefully Matheus Cunha will be the answer.

Lopetegui had to bring Semedo off due to his yellow card, but his replacement Jonny seems to be completely devoid of any confidence.

He doesn’t look comfortable on the ball at all and ended up giving United quite a few of opportunities. He needs to be out of the firing line for a bit.

I was a bit perplexed to see Adama Traore come on for Costa at half-time. Putting him out wide with Hwang in the middle didn’t make sense. Adama comes on to make crosses, but there’s no-one arriving in the box. Jimenez needed to come on a lot earlier.

Meanwhile, I was really pleased to see Matheus Nunes come out publicly and criticise his own performances, and I think he was much improved at the weekend.

It suits him to play deeper. He handled the ball very well and he can step past players, which is a huge asset to have.

Playing him alongside Neves or in a flat midfield three is the way forward. Against Villa I’d like to see Boubacar Traore come into that three. If he’s fit, he has to play for his ability to win the ball back.

It’s a huge game against Villa, who had a great result against Tottenham. They have a world class manager.

The atmosphere will be incredible and it’ll be interesting if Cunha plays straight away. I would do that, and you hope he’ll bring some confidence and have a big impact on the game.