Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Manchester City

Reigning Premier League champions Manchester City head to Molineux Stadium to take on perennial strugglers Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Wolverhampton Wanderers cannot catch a break this season. Gary O’Neil’s strugglers let a 2-0 lead slip through their fingers in midweek League Cup action as second-tier Ipswich ousted them 3-2, stretching their underwhelming winless run in all competitions to four games (D1, L3). Except for a 1-0 win over fellow bottom-half underachievers Everton in late August, the ‘Wanderers’ have gone winless in their remaining five Premier League outings this season (D2, L3), including a gut-wrenching 1-1 draw against newcomers Luton Town last weekend. Manchester City’s visit to the West Midlands comes at the worst possible moment for Wolves, who have conceded an alarming average of 3.25 goals per match across their last four H2Hs at Molineux (W1, L3). It’s also worth noting they lost both Premier League duels against the ‘Citizens’ in 2022/23 by the same 3-0 scoreline.

Luckily for Wolves, fatigue looks to be catching up with Manchester City as Pep Guardiola’s second-string line-up slumped to a 1-0 League Cup defeat at Newcastle United in the build-up to this fixture. Guardiola had to rest several first-team stars at St James’ Park to optimize his side’s chances of maintaining a 100% start to their Premier League title defense (W6) following a hard-earned 2-0 home triumph over Nottingham Forest last weekend. The ‘Citizens’ have fared exceptionally well on the road this season, winning all three away league games by an 8-2 aggregate score despite failing to score before halftime in the last two. But they netted beyond the 85th minute on both occasions, highlighting the potential for some late drama.