The Hornets showed two changes to the team which defeated Aston Villa 3-0, with Craig Dawson and Nathaniel Chalobah taking the places of Adrian Mariappa and Will Hughes.
Nuno Espirito Santo handed recalls to Matt Doherty, Romain Saiss, Adama Traore and Raul Jimenez as the Wolves boss made four alterations to the XI which started the 1-0 defeat at Liverpool.
The opening exchanges saw both sides taking time to find their rhythm, with neither goalkeeper tested in the first ten minutes.
That changed when a superb pass from Conor Coady released Doherty, with Ben Foster racing from his line to make a well-timed block.
Jimenez then drove a shot well wide when he should have done better as the visitors began to gain the upper hand, although Gerard Deulofeu was posing a decent threat for the home side and Chalobah shot narrowly over the top from the edge of the area.
And on the half-hour mark the hosts broke the deadlock as Deulofeu smacked a low shot past Rui Patricio after Ismaila Sarr had robbed Leander Dendoncker of possession.
Deulofeu went close again five minutes before the interval as he shot over the crossbar after running on to a flick-on from Troy Deeney, who then played in Sarr, whose shot nestled in the side-netting.
Early in the second half the Hornets moved 2-0 in front as midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure saw his shot take a deflection off Coady to beat Rui Patricio, with Deulofeu having done the set-up work.
Wolves responded to the blow by bringing on both Ruben Vinagre and Ruben Neves and they pulled a goal back on the hour mark.
Pedro Neto tried his luck from distance and a deflection off Christian Kabasele left Foster unable to make the save as the ball looped over him.
And Wolves were further boosted 19 minutes from time when VAR upgraded a yellow card shown to Kabasele for a foul on Diogo Jota to a red card, leaving the Hornets down to ten men.
Foster kept his side in front with a superb save to keep out a header from Doherty and that intervention proved to be decisive as the hosts held on for a crucial three points.
Watford 2-1 Wolves - Match Highlights
The Hornets showed two changes to the team which defeated Aston Villa 3-0, with Craig Dawson and Nathaniel Chalobah taking the places of Adrian Mariappa and Will Hughes.
Nuno Espirito Santo handed recalls to Matt Doherty, Romain Saiss, Adama Traore and Raul Jimenez as the Wolves boss made four alterations to the XI which started the 1-0 defeat at Liverpool.
The opening exchanges saw both sides taking time to find their rhythm, with neither goalkeeper tested in the first ten minutes.
That changed when a superb pass from Conor Coady released Doherty, with Ben Foster racing from his line to make a well-timed block.
Jimenez then drove a shot well wide when he should have done better as the visitors began to gain the upper hand, although Gerard Deulofeu was posing a decent threat for the home side and Chalobah shot narrowly over the top from the edge of the area.
And on the half-hour mark the hosts broke the deadlock as Deulofeu smacked a low shot past Rui Patricio after Ismaila Sarr had robbed Leander Dendoncker of possession.
Deulofeu went close again five minutes before the interval as he shot over the crossbar after running on to a flick-on from Troy Deeney, who then played in Sarr, whose shot nestled in the side-netting.
Early in the second half the Hornets moved 2-0 in front as midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure saw his shot take a deflection off Coady to beat Rui Patricio, with Deulofeu having done the set-up work.
Wolves responded to the blow by bringing on both Ruben Vinagre and Ruben Neves and they pulled a goal back on the hour mark.
Pedro Neto tried his luck from distance and a deflection off Christian Kabasele left Foster unable to make the save as the ball looped over him.
And Wolves were further boosted 19 minutes from time when VAR upgraded a yellow card shown to Kabasele for a foul on Diogo Jota to a red card, leaving the Hornets down to ten men.
Foster kept his side in front with a superb save to keep out a header from Doherty and that intervention proved to be decisive as the hosts held on for a crucial three points.