Leicester City face a relegation six-pointer against Wolves on Sunday, and there is one key reason why Ruud van Nistelrooy must be wary.
Leicester are looking to bounce back from their disappointing 4-0 defeat against Newcastle as Ruud van Nistelrooy tasted his first loss in the dugout.
Dropping points at St James’ Park left the Foxes 17th in the Premier League table, five points ahead of Wolves, who were beaten by Ipswich Town last weekend.
Wolves defeat saw Gary O’Neil get sacked after 16 months in charge at Molineux, with the Englishman leaving them 19th in the division.
Ahead of the clash, Matheus Cunha was hit with a ban by the FA, although it’s unlikely to come into play before the weekend’s game.
Cunha is Wolves’ biggest threat having scored eight goals in 16 appearances this term. But it isn’t the Brazilian who van Nistelrooy should be most wary of this weekend.
Leicester should fear new manager bounce after Wolves appoint Vitor Pereira
After Leicester replaced Steve Cooper with van Nistelrooy, Wolves were the latest side in relegation trouble to make a new appointment.
On Thursday, it was announced that Portuguese boss Vitor Pereira will replace O’Neil after leaving Saudi Pro League side Al Shabab.
The 56-year-old will take charge of his 13th club as manager, having previously worked at some high-profile sides, including Porto, Fenerbache and Corinthians.
Now, he’s been tasked with keeping Wolves in the Premier League, the side two places and five points worse off than the Foxes.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 15 |  Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace | 16 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 17 | 21 | -4 | 16 |
| 16 |  EvertonEverton | 15 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 14 | 21 | -7 | 15 |
| 17 |  LeicesterLeicester | 16 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 21 | 34 | -13 | 14 |
| 18 |  IpswichIpswich | 16 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 16 | 28 | -12 | 12 |
| 19 |  WolvesWolves | 16 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 24 | 40 | -16 | 9 |
Indeed, whilst Wolves lost their previous four matches under O’Neil, van Nistelrooy must fear the new manager bounce.
The Old Gold are now a completely different opposition to what they were under the Englishman, and the players will be motivated to improve on their recent performances under a new manager.
In what is a huge six-pointer at the bottom of the table, Leicester can pull eight points clear of the visitors with a win while a defeat would see Wolves close the gap to just two points.
Leicester City’s recent head-to-head record vs Wolves
There isn’t much to separate the two sides in the table but Leicester hold the advantage over their relegation rivals in recent meetings.
| Date | Fixture | W/D/L | Scoreline | Competition |
| 08 Nov 2020 | Leicester City v Wolves | W | 1-0 | Premier League |
| 07 Feb 2021 | Wolves v Leicester City | D | 0-0 | Premier League |
| 14 Aug 2021 | Leicester City v Wolves | W | 1-0 | Premier League |
| 20 Feb 2022 | Wolves v Leicester City | L | 2-1 | Premier League |
| 23 Oct 2022 | Wolves v Leicester City | W | 0-4 | Premier League |
| 22 Apr 2023 | Leicester City v Wolves | W | 2-1 | Premier League |
Since securing a 1-0 win over Wolves in November 2020 thanks to a Jamie Vardy penalty, Leicester have won three of their last five meetings, only conceding three goals in the process.
In the grand scheme of things, the recent history of this fixture means nothing, and van Nistelrooy will need to guard his players against complacency as Pereira aims to get off to a winning start.