I'd have thought in the summer Wolves were a certain favourite for relegation. Lopetegui quit the week prior to the season beginning, Wolves were massively hamstrung by Profit and Sustainability, they lost most of their midfield (Neves, Moutinho, Nunes), had scored a mere 31 PL goals last season and sold players who had provided 54% of their scoring last season. O'Neil has done a remarkable job with little to work with. Even if Everton didn't have a points deduction, Wolves would still be two points ahead of them, despite them dealing with their own financial chaos. They're also level on points with Chelsea.
Interestingly, Wolves are one goal away from equalling last season's goal scoring output. They've managed to get plenty of goals out of Cunha and Hwang. Both have already equalled or scored more goals than Wolves' top scorers in each of the previous three seasons. Wolves haven't scored more than 38 in the league over the past three seasons, which this season they'll likely surpass with ease. It'll be interesting to see how they fare without Hwang, but given the extent of their layoff, they might only miss him for 4-5 games.