Cesar Peixoto finds himself under a bit of early pressure at Wolves, but ahead of the match with Watford there’s one statistic that will give him some encouragement.

Wanderers could only draw their last Championship match with Portsmouth, letting slip the lead that Jordan James gave them in the 62nd minute. Without Raul Jimenez and Adam Armstrong, the lack of quality was evident for the Old Gold, and Pompey’s Terry Devlin scored an 86th-minute equaliser at Molineux.

The performance and result have left a section of the fanbase disgruntled. But Wolves do only find themselves four points off the play-off places. And up next are Watford, who are buoyed after beating Charlton Athletic last weekend.

Failure to win on Saturday will crank up the pressure on Cesar Peixoto.

But he may well take heart from Wolves’ home record against Watford.

Watford struggle at Molineux as Peixoto eyes Wolves renaissance

As per BBC Sport, Watford have actually won just two of their last 20 away league games against Wolves (D11 L7), a 2-1 win in August 2007 and a 2-0 win in October 2018.

Of course, the two clubs have often been in different divisions in recent years, but Watford have clearly struggled when making trips to Wolves’ home.

And regardless of where games have been, Wolves have had Watford’s number in recent meetings. Wolves have won four of their last five league games against Watford, losing one, and could actually win three in a row against the Hornets in the league for the first time.

And then it’s also worth looking at how poor Watford have been on the road generally in recent times.

They have lost nine of their last 10 away league games, drawing one, and scored just five goals and conceded 25 in that run.

Their win over Charlton moved them out of the relegation zone and they’ll be keen for another positive result on Saturday. But this is a game that Peixoto undoubtedly needs to be winning, given Watford’s record at Molineux.

Peixoto must address Wolves’ slow attacking play and lack of movement vs Watford

Peixoto has to try and get his Wolves side to turn possession and territorial dominance into goals. He needs Wolves to start aggressively and to attack the spaces behind Watford’s defence.

After the Portsmouth draw, Peixoto said (via Wolves official): “It’s a result we don’t want because we really wanted to win the game. I think in the first half we played too slowly, moved the ball too slowly and didn’t find the spaces to attack. We played forward too often, which made it easy for them to defend against us.

“They stayed in a deep block and didn’t give us much space, but we needed more mobility and creativity on the ball. We needed to speed up the game at the right moments and create space in behind. I don’t think we did that well enough in the first half.”

Peixoto has already identified the problem Wolves have to solve, admitting that slow passing and a lack of movement made it easier for Portsmouth to defend deep. That could be particularly relevant against Watford, given the visitors’ recent struggles away from home. Rather than dominating possession, Wolves should look to Watford’s defensive block from side to side before exploiting the gaps that appear.

Getting Fer Lopez on the ball between the lines, with runners moving beyond him, could be key to turning territorial control into clear chances.

There just can’t be a repeat of the Portsmouth game, with Wolves needing to manage this game much better if the Old Gold find themselves in a similar position.

Armstrong might be fit to play against Watford, Peixoto has said, so if he can, then it’ll be important for the striker to use his movement to help create space for Lopez.

There’s also an argument to say that Peixoto is chopping and changing a lot right now, having made 13 changes to his starting XI across the last three matches. Consistency can be key.