Wolves captain Ruben Neves admits only a catastrophe can send them down now.
Toti Gomes’ early header earned a 1-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday – a fourth straight home victory – and moved Julen Lopetegui’s men onto 40 points.
They are 13th, 10 points clear of the Premier League’s bottom three, and depending on other results could be mathematically safe by Monday night.
It comes after Wolves were bottom at Christmas and Neves knows their job is virtually done.
He told the club’s official site: “It’s not a secret for anyone, with 40 points we are pretty much there. A catastrophe needs to happen. It was really important for us and we can breathe a bit better now.
“It’s a big relief to come out of this fight and to enjoy the three games left in the league. We knew if we won this game, we’d be really close to our goal. It’s really hard to go down on 40 points.
“We had a bad start and changed coach, then the World Cup and we changed coach again.
“A lot of injuries, a lot of players out, but we wanted to achieve our main goal.”
Villa’s European hopes took a hit to keep them eighth and a point behind Brighton, having played three more games.
They host the Seagulls on the final day of the season and also face Tottenham and Liverpool, the other two sides immediately above them before the end of the campaign.
Successive 1-0 defeats could prove fatal in their quest to return to Europe for the first time since 2010-11 and midfielder John McGinn revealed his frustrations.
“We lost a goal from a set-piece, which is never nice, and you give yourselves a tougher task. We created a lot of chances to go and equalise and get more from the game,” he told the club’s official site.
“It’s definitely frustrating. There are a lot of things we could have done better, but overall, we controlled a lot of it.
“We’ve got to be a lot smarter in the final areas with our decision-making like we have been over the last few months.
“As much as when we were winning we weren’t getting carried away, it’s important we don’t let two defeats hamper what could be an exciting end to the season.
“We’ve made it extremely difficult for ourselves now but the challenge is still there for us. We’ll be aiming for three wins in the last three games.”
Sean Dyche knows process to revive Everton will take time after another win
Sean Dyche insists Everton cannot rush their recovery after the Toffees’ impressive Carabao Cup win at Aston Villa.
James Garner and Dominic Calvert-Lewin fired the visitors into the fourth round – and a home tie with Burnley – following their 2-1 victory.
Boubacar Kamara pulled a late goal back to spark a Villa rally but any comeback would have been undeserved for the awful hosts.
Everton lost 4-0 at Villa Park in the Premier League just five weeks ago but have secured back-to-back wins for the first time in a year as their season splutters into life.
Investment firm 777 Partners is also waiting for approval on its takeover and Dyche knows the process to revive the club takes time.
“The story of Everton has been a two-to-three season story, the cloud hanging over it a little bit. The only people who can change that story is us,” he said, after four defeats from their opening five league games.
“The team starts the process, bonding the club together, bonding the fans. You want that bond.
“We want a strong connection with the fans, the rest I can’t control, but a strong connection is something we can get with the way the players go about their business.
“We are trying to work with things on and off the pitch, there’s so much alignment which needs to be done from top to bottom. You can’t just fast track everything. The last couple of seasons have not been where Everton want to be.
“Now it’s step-by-step, building a team which is more competitive and gets more wins. The rest of it takes care of itself.”
Everton’s press unnerved Villa and earned them the opener after 15 minutes when they forced a mistake.
Robin Olsen’s poor clearance under pressure landed for Amadou Onana on the edge of the area, with Calvert-Lewin and Arnaut Danjuma returning the ball.
Onana slipped a clever pass through to Garner to smash in his first Toffees goal from 10 yards.
Olsen stopped a comical John McGinn own goal and thwarted Calvert-Lewin but was powerless to stop the striker adding a second five minutes after the break.
Youri Tielemans’ poor pass left Ezri Konsa short and Calvert-Lewin darted in to run through and beat Olsen.
It was all the visitors deserved yet they needed Jordan Pickford to stop Moussa Diaby pulling a goal back immediately.
Calvert-Lewin tested Olsen but Kamara gave Villa faint hope when his strike from the edge of the box deflected in off Michael Keane.
Diaby and Douglas Luiz went close to forcing penalties but poor Villa slumped to their first home defeat since February.
“It’s not (about being) tired,” said boss Unai Emery, who made five changes from Sunday’s 1-0 win at Chelsea which lifted Villa to sixth in the Premier League.
“I don’t want to use all our effort with the players each match. We are trying to keep a balance with some different players but trying to be competitive.
“We’re disappointed with the start and mistakes we made but we are trying to go forward and building the team.
“We made the second mistake quickly (in the second half) and it was difficult to come back.
“We have to move on quickly, try to recover the players for Saturday (against Brighton) because we need the best performance.”
Everton secure back-to-back wins with cup victory at disappointing Aston Villa
Everton continued their mini revival after a deserved 2-1 Carabao Cup win at Aston Villa.
James Garner’s first Toffees goal and Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s strike fired the visitors into the fourth round.
Boubacar Kamara’s late strike gave the scoreline a flattering look after Everton bossed much of the game against their disappointing hosts.
Villa routed the Toffees 4-0 in the Premier League last month but Sean Dyche’s side have begun to mount their recovery following a wretched start.
Successive victories for the first time under Dyche – and first for a year – will continue to rouse the Toffees. With Luton and Bournemouth next to visit Goodison Park there is the chance to find real momentum.
For Villa, whose last major trophy was the 1996 League Cup, it was another disappointing night for a club which so desperately wants to challenge the elite.
They will continue to remain on the fringes with similar performances as they strive for consistency, having won 1-0 at Chelsea on Sunday.
There was never any sign Unai Emery’s side would build on that result during a sloppy display where they were outfought and overpowered.
Youri Tielemans’ half-volley landed on the roof of the net after seven minutes but that was as good as it got in the first half.
Everton quickly found a tempo which the hosts struggled with and one which, ultimately, forced a 15th-minute opener.
Robin Olsen was put under pressure and his poor clearance landed kindly for Amadou Onana on the edge of the area, before Calvert-Lewin and Arnaut Danjuma worked the ball back to him.
The midfielder then clipped a cute ball through to Garner to lash in from 10 yards with the Villa defence static.
They looked ropey and anxious for the rest of the half as the hosts failed to clear their lines and were unnerved by Everton’s pressing and Danjuma’s direct running.
Only an outstanding reflex save from Olsen stopped John McGinn slicing into his own net six minutes before half time after another Danjuma burst embarrassed Ezri Konsa and Matty Cash.
Two minutes later the goalkeeper denied Calvert-Lewin as he tried to round him, the striker putting the rebound wastefully into the sidenetting.
It was a let-off and one Villa should have capitalised on but Jhon Duran fired wildly over in stoppage time to sum up their wayward first half.
Unsurprisingly Unai Emery had seen enough, replacing Duran, McGinn and Leander Dendoncker with Ollie Watkins, Kamara and Lucas Digne at the break.
But it did nothing to improve the hosts and they self destructed five minutes after the restart.
There was little pressure on Tielemans 40-yards out but his pass sold Konsa short and Calvert-Lewin nipped in to streak clear and roll past the exposed Olsen.
A smart Jordan Pickford save from Moussa Diaby stopped the hosts pulling a goal back immediately but there was no sense of a comeback.
Olsen thwarted Calvert-Lewin just after the hour and it looked like Everton would comfortably see the game out.
Yet, Kamara set up a nervy end with eight minutes left when his deflected strike from 20 yards wrong-footed Pickford to creep in.
The goalkeeper saved from Diaby in stoppage time and Douglas Luiz hooked over during a frantic finish but it was too little, too late.
Deadline-day signing Sofyan Amrabat: I only ever wanted to play for Man Utd
Deadline-day signing Sofyan Amrabat says he only ever wanted to join Manchester United and believes Erik ten Hag’s side can “do something big” this season.
The 27-year-old’s qualities came to the fore during the 2022 World Cup, where his outstanding midfield displays helped Morocco on their historic run to the semi-finals.
Amrabat was linked with moves aplenty after Qatar and numerous clubs expressed their interest in a player that only wanted to leave Fiorentina this summer for one destination.
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The midfielder played under Ten Hag at Utrecht at the start of his career and was determined to link back up with him at United as he wrapped up a long-discussed deal at the start of September.
Asked if it was a difficult process waiting to get the move, Amrabat said: “Yes, of course.
“After the last game with the club, it was the Conference League final with West Ham and from that moment, the window started for me.
“A lot of clubs, a lot of speaking, talking, but for me it was clear I wanted Manchester United.
“It was long, long months for me, difficult months for me, but at the end it’s nice on the last day that I signed here and that I’m here is now the most important (thing).”
United paid 10million euros (£8.6m) to sign Amrabat on loan for the season, with the deal including the option to trigger a permanent move.
The Serie A will receive a 20m euros (£17.1m) fee and up to 5m euros (£4.3m) in potential add-ons if that option is taken by Ten Hag’s men.
“I don’t think about that,” Amrabat said of his future beyond this season. “For me, today, I am a Manchester United player.
“The only thing I can do is every day to give everything that I have, to do my best, to try to help the team.
“I hope we have a fantastic season, I hope we can win something and then later we will see what will happen.
“Of course, I would love to stay here, but that’s not important for me. I don’t look too far into the future.”
Amrabat spoke as he basked in the afterglow of an impressive first appearance at Old Trafford, where he helped United beat Crystal Palace 3-0 in the Carabao Cup third round.
“It was fantastic,” he said with a smile. “It was a dream of mine. Since I was a child I worked for this every day and to be here is a dream, it’s fantastic.”
After a small injury delayed his debut, Amrabat finally made his bow off the bench in Saturday’s much-needed win at Burnley before making his first start against Palace three days later.
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Those back-to-back victories have lifted the mood around Old Trafford after what had been a challenging start to the season on and off the field for absentee-hit United.
Pressure and scrutiny had grown having lost four of their opening six matches of a season for the first time since 1986, but Amrabat is confident they can kick on and enjoy a successful season.
“I have a lot of confidence because I see that we have so much quality,” he said.
“I think it was a bit unlucky with the injuries we had. Of course for every team it’s difficult if you have a lot of injuries.
“But I see a lot of quality, we have a fantastic coach, we have fantastic fans, so I believe that we can do something big.
“But at the end you have to show it on the pitch, not with talking, not with speaking, you have to work for it and hopefully we can reach something very nice.”
United won the Carabao Cup in their first season under Ten Hag, who described Amrabat as a “warrior” on Tuesday as he started as makeshift left-back due to a string of absentees.
“First of all, when I make a step on the pitch, for me it’s normal that you give everything, that you fight for every metre and give your all for the team,” the Morocco international added.
“Of course you can make technical mistakes, everyone can have a bad game, but I think – at the end – most importantly, you fight for the badge, for the club and that’s the minimum you can do.
“I think, for me, that’s normal and that’s what I try always.
“The manager knows me very well, a long time – maybe seven years ago that we worked together, so it’s a long time.
“But he knows me, I know him, I know what he wants and I try to do that at the best (level).”
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