Matt Doherty’s 15th-minute own goal has given the Blues a 1-0 half-time lead over Wolves at Molineux.
Town made three changes from the team which lost 2-1 to AFC Bournemouth last Sunday with Jens Cajuste, Harry Clarke and Wes Burns coming into the team.
Clarke replaced Ben Johnson, who dropped to the bench, at right-back, while Cajuste took over from Jack Taylor in the centre of midfield, with the Irish international also among the subs.
Burns returned to the side for Sammie Szmodics, who was missing from the 20-man squad having been taken ill.
The Wales international’s inclusion saw Omari Hutchinson move to the left with Conor Chaplin the number 10.
Wolves made one change from the team which was defeated 2-1 at West Ham on Monday with Jean-Ricner Bellegarde coming in for the suspended Joao Gomes, while Mario Lemina was stripped of the captaincy earlier in the week and Nelson Semedo wore the armband.
Town started brightly, taking the game to the Old Gold with crosses from the left somehow just avoiding first Wes Burns, from Leif Davis, and then Conor Chaplin, from Liam Delap, at the back of the box either side of the 10-minute mark. Chaplin eventually was able to get in a shot but straight against a defender.
But on the quarter-hour, the Blues went in front. Delap muscled his way past Semedo on the right and into the area to the byline. The striker cut back to Hutchinson but it caught a defender on the way across, so the former Chelsea man was unable to take the chance, instead cutting inside, drawing keeper Sam Johnstone. His shot was blocked by Matt Doherty, but the ball deflected out to Chaplin, whose low effort hit Toti, then ricocheted back off Doherty and into the net.
Chaplin and his teammates celebrated in front of the Town fans, situated all along the lower tier of the far side, despite the forward denied what would have been his 100th goal for the club with it going down as a Doherty own goal.
Lemina blazed deep, deep, deep into the stand behind the goal on 19, then five minutes later, the home side should have levelled. After Dara O’Shea had given the ball away, Lemina found Bellegarde in space on the right of the area but the Frenchman also sent it well over, much to the frustration of the already tetchy home crowd.
After that spell, the Blues kept Wanderers pinned in their own half for a brief period, two Cajuste long throws causing problems but without leading to serious chances.
The home side quickly regained control, however, with their fans now getting behind them. On 33, Matheus Cunha got round the outside on the right before cutting the ball across the six-yard box but O’Shea was able to clear to Hutchinson on the edge of the area.
Within a minute, Rayan Ait-Nouri played in Jørgen Strand Larsen on the left of the box but the Norwegian’s effort was too close to Aro Muric, who saved.
The Blues continued to come under pressure and in the 37th minute Lemina struck a low shot from the edge of the area, which Muric saved down to his left.
Two minutes later, Town made a rare foray into the Wolves half, Cajuste teeing-up Hutchinson, whose 25-yard strike was too close to Johnstone, who saved comfortably to his right.
In the 41st minute, Santiago Bueno went to ground off the ball after a clash with Hutchinson, replays showing there had been nothing more of a shove away from the England U21 international. VAR evidently agreed and the Spaniard was able to continue.
Three minutes later, there was a more controversial incident when Ait-Nouri appeared to deliberately swing a hand into Burns’s face after the two had battled on the touchline. Referee Simon Hooper spoke to the Algerian but took no further action. VAR was similarly uninterested.
As the fourth official indicated three additional minutes, Ait-Nouri did get his name in the book for a foul on Burns.
That was the last action of the half with the home fans making their dissatisfaction very clear with loud boos following referee Hooper’s whistle.
Town had started brightly and on the front foot but with neither side having created a chance until the goal.
While the manner the ball crossed the line may have been fortuitous, Delap’s superb strength down the right to beat Semedo will not have gone unnoticed by his many suitors.
From there, Wolves had taken the game to Town with the Blues defending staunchly but with the home team having two opportunities they will feel they should have taken.
The game is likely to become more open the longer the second half goes on with the Blues in the lead, which may suit the counter-attacking pace of Hutchinson, Burns and Delap.
Town: Muric, H Clarke, O'Shea, Burgess, Davis, Morsy (c), Cajuste, Burns, Chaplin, Hutchinson, Delap. Subs: Walton, Johnson, Woolfenden, Townsend, Phillips, Taylor, Broadhead, J Clarke, Al-Hamadi.
Wolves: Johnstone, Doherty, Semedo (c), Bueno, Toti, Ait-Nouri, Andre, Lemina, Bellegarde, Cunha, Strand Larsen. Subs: Bentley, Hwang, Dawson, R Gomes, Doyle, Forbs, Guedes, Meupiyou, Lima. Referee: Simon Hooper (Wiltshire). VAR official: Darren England.