Manchester United are aiming for a third consecutive Premier League win when they travel to Molineux to take on Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday afternoon.
Date/Time : 31 December, 13:30 CET
Referee: Robert Jones
The Red Devils are currently fifth in the table, a point behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur with a game in hand for the capital club, while Wolves are 18th with 13 points from 16 games since 2022-2.3.
Julen Lopetegui’s tenure as Wolves manager started well, with the Spaniard controlling wins in both games, including a 2-0 win over Gillingham in the EFL Cup on 20 December.
Wolves beat Everton 2-1 in the Premier League on Boxing Day and the fighters came from behind to triumph at Goodison Park; Daniel Podence equalized in the 22nd minute after Yerry Mina opened the scoring before Rayan Ait-Nouri struck the winning goal in the 95th minute.
The result left the 2017-18 championship winners 18th in the table, now just a point behind Everton in 17th, and the arrival of Lopetegui as head coach seems to have given the side an advantage. That pleases the 56-year-old who manages it. from Spain and Real Madrid during his career so far.
Wolves got off to a busy start to January as they faced Aston Villa in the Premier League on January 4 before taking on Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup and EFL Cup respectively.
There’s no denying that it’s been a difficult first half of the season for the club, but a win over Everton would have been a huge boost of confidence at a key point in the season.
Wolves also won their last game for Man United in January, winning 1-0 at Old Trafford thanks to a João Moutinho strike in the 82nd minute.
Meanwhile, Man United go into this game after a 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Tuesday night, with Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Fred on the goalscoring list.
The Red Devils returned to World Cup action on December 21, recording a 2-0 win over Burnley to advance to the EFL Cup while putting on a dominant display against Forest to move within a point clear of fourth-placed Spurs to move. . on the table, with a game fewer than Antonio Conte’s team.
Erik ten Hag’s side have now won nine, drawn two and lost four in their 15 league games this season for 29 points and there have been many positive signs after a poor start to the season.
In fact, after that game, Man United have four straight home games ahead of them, facing Bournemouth and Manchester City at Old Trafford in the Premier League, and Everton and Charlton Athletic in the FA Cup and EFL Cup respectively.
The Red Devils have the fifth-best away record in the Premier League this season with 13 points from eight games, but have conceded 16 goals on their trips in the 2022/23 season.
Wolves remain the league’s worst scorers despite two goals against Everton, but Lopetegui is confident he can unleash the attacking talent that is certainly present in Molineux.
Daniel Podence scored his third goal of the season against Everton but hobbled away with a leg injury.
Wolves’ medical staff are ‘optimistic’ about the imminent return of Jonny Castro Otto and Boubacar Traore. Pedro Neto is not expected to return from an ankle problem until February, while Chiquinho is targeting March to complete his ACL recovery. Sasa Kalajdzic is unlikely to play again this season after suffering the same serious injury in September.
Fit enough for a late appearance against Nottingham Forest, Harry Maguire was able to return to the starting line-up after three more days to make a full recovery from a virus that swept through the squad.
Both Victor Lindelof and Scott McTominay missed Tuesday’s win due to illness, forcing Luke Shaw into an unfamiliar role as halfback. Lisandro Martinez is expected to offer another option soon as the World Cup winner returns to Carrington.
Diogo Dalot is recovering from a hamstring injury but Jadon Sancho and Axel Tuanzebe are out of shape this weekend.
Wolves vs Man Utd H2H Results (Last 5)
Wolves: 1 Win
Man Utd: 3 Wins
Draws: 1
Current Form (Last Five Games)
Wolves: L W L W W
Man Utd: L W W W W
Probable Lineups:
Wolverhampton (4-3-3):
Sa; Semedo, Collins, Kilman, Ait-Nouri; Nunes, Neves, Moutinho; Hwang, Costa, Guedes
Man Utd (4-2-3-1):
De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Maguire, Shaw; Casemiro, Eriksen; Antony, Fernandes, Rashford; Martial