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After an eight-year stay in the Premier League, a dismal 2025/26 campaign saw Wolves finish bottom with just 20 points, notching just three wins all season. Whilst the relegation may have felt inevitable after a period of time, the departure of Rob Edwards certainly raised a few eyebrows after an upturn of form upon his arrival, paired with his Championship track record. His replacement is the 46-year-old Cesar Peixoto, who takes on his first managerial job outside his native Portugal. The first task for the former Porto, Benfica and Braga manager was to progress to the 2nd Round of the Carabao Cup against another side coping with the harsh realities of relegation in Port Vale, who were subject to an immediate return to League Two after finishing 22nd in League One last season. After the underdogs made a bright start, an error defending a cutback led to Adam Armstrong giving the hosts the lead after 14 minutes. Wolves would assert their dominance and kill the game off before the break with goals from Andre and the returning Fer Lopez, who spent the second half of last season on loan at former club Celta Vigo. Peixoto's side now turn their attentions to a week's time, where it is another Friday night start for them as their Championship campaign gets underway against Blackburn Rovers, as the midlands outfit kickstart their bid to make an immediate return to the English top flight. Story of the Match Team News - Wolverhampton Wanderers (3-4-2-1): Cesar Peixoto named an unchanged XI from his final pre-season friendly against Racing Santander for his first competitive game in charge of the Midlands outfit. Question marks remain over the goalkeeping situation, but for now it has been left to Daniel Bentley to hold down the fort, as he made his 16th appearance for the club after joining in January 2023. There was a debut for former England international Kieran Trippier as part of the back three, whilst Fer Lopez was given the nod after scoring twice in pre-season. 18-year-old Mateus Mane continues to be a prominent figure as he was played on the left of the two supporting Adam Armstrong. Port Vale (3-4-3): Jackson Smith returned to his boyhood club to make his debut for Port Vale after a permanent move from Barnsley over the summer following a successful spell at Grimsby on loan. There was also a debut for Lewis Monstma, with the 28-year-old centre-half since November, including a spell at Dundee where he failed to make a single appearance. The experienced Kyle Dempsey would join the debutants after joining from Bolton in the summer, whilst Wrexham starlet Mo Faal would kickstart his second loan spell at 'The Vale' by leading the line in the opening game of the season against the arch-rivals of his former club, West Brom. A bright start rapidly tamed It was the League Two side that made the first impression on the game after a free kick was swept in towards the back post and worked back across towards the onrushing Jaheim Headley, who rattled the crossbar from 15 yards out. Headley would then benefit from a deflection and drag a shot wide from the angle just moments later, offering distinct warning signs for Wolves. After surviving a couple of early scares, Wolves would take charge courtesy of some enterprising play from Mateus Mane paired with poor defending from Vale. The 18-year-old marauded past Cameron Humphreys towards the byline before cutting the ball back towards the edge of the six-yard box, where a limp interception from Dempsey presented the ball to Adam Armstrong, allowing him to slot home for his third goal in Wolves colours. Following this, the Port Vale performance would degenerate into an increasingly ragged one, as they once again gave the ball away inside their own half, and allowed Fer Lopez to slide through Armstrong, who looked in the mood as he cut inside on to his right foot and bent one off the outer side of the post. Vale did, however, have a glorious opportunity to level the game just before the half-hour mark as a cross played in towards Mo Faal at the back post was headed into the path of Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel on the edge of the six-yard box, with the full-back seemingly losing his bearings as he hooked the ball away from Daniel Bentley's goal, rather than poking it on target. Vale's missed opportunity does not go unpunished - Less than five minutes later, Wolves doubled their advantage from a set piece as the short corner played back to Armstrong is stood up towards the back post, allowing Mosquera to head back into the mix for Andre to nod home. Wolves would sew the tie up before the break with Fer Lopez scoring his first goal for the club after coolly rolling the ball past Smith after a pullback from Rodrigo Gomes. Port Vale would go on to be awarded a lifeline early in the second half as they were given a spot kick for Yerson Mosquera clipping the heels of Faal inside the area. The boyhood West Bromwich Albion player stepped up at Molineux and saw his low penalty down the middle saved by the legs of Daniel Bentley. Mateus Mane continued to show his eagerness to impress, firing a couple of efforts from distance over from the edge of the area. In the 71st minute, it was the long-awaited return of club legend Raul Jimenez, making his first Wolves appearance since his departure for Fulham in 2023. Fresh from scoring three goals for Mexico at the World Cup, the 35-year-old re-entered the Molineux turf to chants of 'Siiiiii Señor', and nearly made it the fairytale return with a fizzing effort from distance that was parried by Smith. Whilst he may not have gotten his goal, the presence of Jimenez has given Wolves a huge boost to their promotion prospects ahead of their Championship campaign. Wolves would wind the game down and cement a comfortable passage into the 2nd Round with bigger fish to fry in the Championship next Friday. Player of the Match - Fer Lopez The 22-year-old had a difficult start to life in Wolverhampton after joining from Celta Vigo in the summer of 2025, making just nine appearances in the first half of the season before going back to his former club on loan. However, after a positive pre-season, the Spanish U21 international embodied a confident player who was happy to progress the ball in midfield and picked out some outstanding passes to the front three. He also took his goal with the utmost composure, getting off the mark almost exactly a year since making his debut.