Little but personal pride is at stake at Molineux on Saturday afternoon, when Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leicester City pit their wits against one another in the Premier League.
Vitor Pereira's men are home and hosed, whereas the Foxes are preparing for life back in the Championship and are simply waiting for the final whistle to blow on a sorry season.
Match preview
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No top-flight team in the land can boast a better run of form than Saturday's hosts Wolves, who are the only side to have won each of their last five Premier League games, a sensational sequence that extinguished any marginal fears of relegation.
After taking down Southampton, West Ham United, Ipswich Town and Tottenham Hotspur in quick succession, Wolves plunged Manchester United into further crisis over the Easter Weekend, claiming a memorable triumph at Old Trafford by virtue of a sensational Pablo Sarabia free kick.
Now mathematically assured of their top-flight status, above Tottenham Hotspur and only below Man United on goal difference in the standings, Wolves can coast towards the finish line as the powers-that-be turn their attentions towards a potential summer of change.
Matheus Cunha to Man United appears to be gathering pace, while Joao Gomes and Rayan Ait-Nouri could be at the centre of some transfer tussles as well, but they will not depart before trying to earn their current club a slice of history.
Should Wolves come up trumps on Saturday, the Old Gold would have won six Premier League games on the spin for the first time ever; the last time the hosts enjoyed a six-match victorious sequence in the top flight came over half a century ago in 1970.
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As the hosts gear up for another year in the big time, Leicester are preparing for the dreaded descent back down to the second tier of English football, having had their inevitable demotion sealed at the hands of champions-elect Liverpool last weekend.
Ruud van Nistelrooy's doomed Foxes did well to keep the Reds at arm's length for a brief period, but they came unstuck at the hands of a deflected Trent Alexander-Arnold volley, as that 1-0 loss officially confirmed the relegation that had been on the cards for some time.
Leicester falling through the trap door provoked a foul-mouthed reaction from long-serving captain Jamie Vardy, who tore into his team's performances with an X-rated social media statement, no doubt echoing the views of many disgruntled supporters throughout the season.
All that Leicester have left to fight for now is finishing above Ipswich Town in the highest of the relegation spots, which will be a tall order if their 10-game winless run in the Premier League is anything to go by, although their only two positive results in 2025 have come on the road.
Indeed, the Foxes' triumph at Tottenham Hotspur and 2-2 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion were both achieved on rival territory, but they were swatted aside 3-0 by Wolves in December, putting the Old Gold on the cusp of their first double over Leicester since 1958.
Team News
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Wolves number three Daniel Bentley earned a rare opportunity in between the sticks at Old Trafford owing to injuries to Jose Sa (back) and Sam Johnstone (unspecified); Sa had to drop out of the first XI mere moments before kickoff after hurting himself in the warm-up.
However, the Portuguese is expected to return for this bout alongside Hwang Hee-chan (unspecified), Jean-Ricner Bellegarde (calf) and Pedro Lima (ankle), but Sasa Kalajdzic, Enso Gonzalez, Yerson Mosquera and Leon Chiwone are all working their way back from long-term knee injuries.
As amazing as Sarabia's winner at Old Trafford was, the Spaniard may have to accept another cameo role behind Marshall Munetsi and Cunha, who needs four more goals to break Raul Jimenez's record for the most by a single Wolves player in a Premier League season.
On the other side of the coin, Leicester's medical room is empty barring long-term knee victim Abdul Fatawu and Stephy Mavididi (muscle), although Harry Winks is still out of the first-team picture amid his falling-out with Van Nistelrooy.
With his side's fate now sealed, Van Nistelrooy should not hesitate to shuffle the pack and hand opportunities to fringe players, but at the same time he will not throw in the towel on the season completely.
One beneficiary might be 15-year-old wonderkid Jeremy Monga, who is already the second-youngest Premier League player of all time and will become the competition's youngest starter if he makes a first XI between now and the end of the season.
Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Sa; Agbadou, Toti, Bueno; Semedo, Andre, Gomes, Ait-Nouri; Munetsi, Cunha; Larsen
Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Hermansen; Pereira, Coady, Faes, Thomas; Ndidi, Soumare; McAteer, El Khannouss, Ayew; Daka
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We say: Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 Leicester City
A clash between two sides with nothing major to play for normally leads to one of two outcomes; a dull, low-scoring affair or an all-action thriller where the shackles come off.
However, Wolves are still playing for the momentous achievement of finishing above Spurs and Man United, and Pereira's in-form men have our vote to make light work of crisis club Leicester.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
