Wolves might not fully convince in the race for automatic promotion in the Championship race despite their lofty position – but the Premier League experience coursing through their squad could prove telling when the pressure ramps up.

Now, clearly, having played in the Premier League is not an instant guarantee of success in the second tier. The demands are different, the season more arduous and the challenges more plentiful in the Championship given the wonderfully competitive nature of it all.

Wolves’ 11-most used players boast 575 Premier League appearances

The eleven players who have made the most starting appearances this season are: Andre, Marshall Munetsi, Mateus Mane, Fer Lopez, Hugo Bueno, Jose Sa, Tommy Doyle, Adam Armstrong, Jordan James, Nasser Djiga and Rodrigo Gomes.

They alone boast a whopping 575 Premier League appearances between them, and that’s without counting the hundreds that experienced squad members Raul Jimenez and Kieran Trippier have under their belt.

Heading into the international break, Birmingham and Middlesborough sit above Wolves in the Championship table in the automatic promotion spots, so it feels pertinent to compare how they fare on that front at this stage of the season.

The 11 players upon which Birmingham have given the most appearances to amass 204 Premier League outings, 200 of which are from Demarai Gray alone. Boro’s haul stands at just 4.

Birmingham and Boro aren’t the only teams involved, of course, and they do have bigger squads than just 11 players. Yet, the difference in that experience is so stark that is certainly worth noting. 

It speaks of a quality and a knowhow beyond the players who have never operated at such a level. That doesn’t mean players at Birmingham and Boro cannot succeed in the Premier League, just that they are unproven going up against such quality – which Wolves boast in abundance. 

Clubs cannot get by on reputation alone. Having played in the Premier League does not mean much if you’re outside of the top two come May. Still, it merely underlines the fact that Wolves have a seriously strong squad in the Championship, and that experience can provide the intangible and unquantifiable marginal gains required in a race that generates so much pressure.

It brings its own pressure, too. If head coach Cesar Peixoto cannot get this squad promoted, it won’t be because of the quality and pedigree of the players available.