Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Manchester United: Preview, Team News & Predictions
Wolverhampton Wanderers are set to entertain Manchester United at the Molineux on the 1st of February in the last of the ongoing round of Premier League fixtures.
A feisty Black Country derby saw Wolves round off a 2-0 win against West Bromwich Albion, their first away win at the Hawthorns since 1996.
Tempers flared in the crowd when a supporter from the away side was seen in the home end, temporarily halting play before Gary O’Neil, who is rather reserved, was seen wildly celebrating with his fans upon conclusion of the match.
Wolves are within touching distance of the top half of the ladder and are gradually gelling into a well-oiled unit under O’Neil. Unbeaten in seven across all competitions and with 10 points won from an available 12 of late, they’ll be confident in their ability to upset an out-of-sorts Manchester United side.
The Red Devils avoided embarrassment versus fourth division side Newport County courtesy of goals from Bruno Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo, Antony and Rasmus Hojlund.
Although they have just one win from their last five league games, Man United have emerged victorious in each of their last three visits to the Molineux.
Erik ten Hag has just barely managed to keep a team that’s a nudge away from freefall afloat. Recent off-field disciplinary issues have sent another negative message to the fans, but there’s no better response than walking away with all three points.
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Team News
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Midfielder Joao Gomes, who signed with the club a year ago, is serving the last of his three-match ban.
Boubacar Traore and key man Hwang Hee-chan are away on international duty, while O’Neil will hope to have the services of Pablo Sarabia back after he picked up a minor calf injury at the weekend.
Manchester United
Mason Mount continues to be on the sidelines for Man United, as is Victor Lindelof. Aaron Wan-Bissaka could be touch-and-go after having missed out against Newport with a strain.
Sofyan Amrabat remains at the Africa Cup of Nations.
The key pre-match talking point remains the availability of Marcus Rashford, who was axed previously for a matter that appears to be internally fixed after the player seemingly apologized for his actions. He’s slowly displaying shades of the forward we saw last season, and Ten Hag could hand him a start.
Predicted XI
Wolverhampton Wanderers (3-4-2-1): Sa; Kilman, Dawson, Toti; Semedo, Doyle, Lemina, Ait-Nouri; Neto, Bellegarde; Cunha
Manchester United (4-2-3-1): Onana; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Martinez, Dalot; Mainoo, Eriksen; Rashford, Fernandes, Garnacho; Hojlund
Match Prediction
A porous Man United defense could be exploited by a trio of willing runners that Wolves have at their disposal. In-form duo Pedro Neto and Matheus Cunha have developed a budding relationship on the field when playing together; they seem to know each other’s strengths positionally and technically which could hurt United on the break.
Predicted score: Wolves 2-1 Manchester United
-Roy Akarshak
Twitter: @RoyAkarshak
Photo: Badgemet. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.