Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Manchester United

Molineux Stadium forms the backdrop for a potentially season-defining Boxing Day showdown between Premier League underachievers Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester United.

Immediately after sacking manager Gary O’Neil, Wolverhampton Wanderers returned to winning ways in the Premier League under new boss Vítor Pereira, dismantling fellow Midlands rivals Leicester City 3-0 last weekend to end a dreadful four-game losing run. However, Pereira still has a lot on his plate, with Wolves entering Boxing Day in the bottom three, albeit only two points adrift of safety. His next task is to rebuild Wolves’ home fortress, with Molineux breached six times in eight Premier League contests this season (W1, D1, L6), including the last two. Man Utd’s upcoming visit spells further trouble, with the Wanderers losing four consecutive home league H2Hs since 2021 via a single-goal margin, including a goal-glutted 4-3 defeat in this corresponding fixture last season.

Meanwhile, Manchester United suffered a humiliating 3-0 home loss to Bournemouth last weekend, only days after crashing out of the EFL Cup at the hands of Tottenham (3-4). As a result, new boss Ruben Amorim presided over the first Man Utd generation to spend Christmas in the bottom half of the table for the first time in the Premier League era. Leaving the comforts of Old Trafford could make things worse for the Red Devils, at least based on their indifferent away league form this season (W2, D3, L3). If it’s any consolation, they stunned Manchester City 2-1 on their last top-flight trip to end a dismal run of five away league matches without winning (D3, L2).