Wolves vs Manchester City preview, team news, tickets & prediction

Wolves and Manchester City have made different starts to the 2023-24 Premier League season and that is not a surprise.

Wolves have made a turbulent start to the new Premier League season. Erstwhile manager Julen Lopetegui left Wolverhampton Wanderers just three days before the start of the new Premier League season owing to issues surrounding the lack of quality transfers in the summer. In a swift move, Gary O’Neil was appointed as the new manager less than 24 hours after the club had parted company with Lopetegui. 

O’Neil’s first game in his new job was the Premier League opener at Manchester United which they lost 1-0. A 4-1 bashing at the Molineux at the hands of Brighton then followed. They eventually claimed their first win of the season at Goodison Park against Everton courtesy of Sasa Kalajdzic’s goal. Another success was enjoyed in the League Cup where they defeated Blackpool 5-0 to move into the next round.

After those back-to-back wins, the poor form returned as they suffered consecutive defeats on either side of the international break. Crystal Palace beat Wolves 3-2 before the Wanderers lost 3-1 at home to a resurgent Liverpool. Meanwhile, the trip to Luton Town was complicated quite early when Jean-Ricner Bellegarde was sent off in the first half, but Wolves managed to come away with a point.

On the other side, Manchester City, who are defending champions of the majors, have been racking up wins this season, as at the time of writing, Pep Guardiola’s men have won all six games on the domestic front, a UCL win and there’s a UEFA Cup success in the mix too. This is the worst time to face the Citizens who are looking strong for a fourth successive Premier League title.

The Citizens kicked off the season with a comfortable 3-0 win over Vincent Kompany’s Burnley at Turf Moor courtesy of goals from the explosive Erling Haaland (brace) and Rodri. A difficult yet important win at the Etihad over Newcastle. Julian Alvarez’s superb finish decided the contest. 

That game was followed by another gritty 2-1 win over newly-promoted Sheffield United. Haaland and Rodri were the goal scorers once again. Right before the international break, a comprehensive 5-1 thumping of Fulham where Haaland grabbed his first hat trick of the season followed. 

Man City came from a goal down to beat West Ham in London. It was a game summer signing Jeremy Doku got his first goal for the club. Another comeback 3-1 win was recorded in their first UCL outing at the Etihad Stadium since lifting the trophy in June. Pep Guardiola’s side got things done early against Nottingham Forest winning 2-0. 

Wolves have been able to garner four points this season compared to Man City’s 100% record from six games each. Man City are on a run of six consecutive wins over the Wanderers and are looking way too good for their hosts on Saturday.

The Wanderers have managed to keep just a clean sheet in the Premier League this season and they are coming up against a Man City side that has scored in every game (including friendlies) since the final day of last season when they lost 1-0 at Brentford. 

Haaland is a nightmare to Premier League teams and Wolves are one of his favourite opponents. The Norwegian scored a hat-trick in their last meeting at the Etihad in January and also scored on his first trip to the Molineux back in 2022.  

Match tickets

This epic match at the Molineux in Wolverhampton kicks off on Saturday 30th September, at 3PM UK time. 

This is a Premier League clash between a relegation candidate and a champion of everything. Man City are coming to Wolverhampton and fans of the two teams will be thrilled to see them in that 32,050-capacity venue for this match week seven encounter. 

Getting tickets for the Wolves vs Man City match tickets could be a bit difficult to get considering the kind of opposition coming to the Molineuz. Anyways, you are advised to search ticket reselling sites should they be expectedly sold out on each club’s channels. 

Team news

Line-ups

Wolves do not have any major injury casualties. Rayan Ait Nouri made a return to the squad at Luton Town but Joseph Hodge, who came off against Liverpool, is still out with a thigh injury that has kept him away for a few days. Meanwhile, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde is unavailable after he was sent off against Luton Town last time out.

Wolves: Jose Sa; Semedo, Dawson, Kilman, Ait Nouri; Joao Gomes, Lemina, Neto, Bellegarde, Hwang; Cunha.

Unfortunately for Man City, injuries are beginning to be prevalent, especially in midfield. Kevin De Bruyne remains a long-term absentee but both Bernardo Silva, Mateo Kovacic and John Stones are also struggling but could be available. Meanwhile, Rodri will be unavailable after he was sent off against Forest last game week and that could see Phillips make his first start of the season.

Manchester City: Ederson; Walker, Dias, Akanji, Ake; Phillips, Nunez; Doku, Alvarez, Foden; Haaland

Prediction

Man City have been dominant in this fixture over the past few seasons. They currently have a six-game winning streak against Wolves and the last time the Citizens failed to win at the Molineux was in 2018.

In terms of the Head-to-Head in the Premier League – Man City have won 12 times, Wolves have four wins and just two games have ended in draws. Additionally, Pep has faced Wolves 11 times in his career and has eight wins against them, losing just twice.

Man City will miss the services of Rodri, one of their most ever-present players and that could hurt them a bit. However, the fearsome attack led by Erling Haaland might come to the rescue once again.

Wolves 0-2 Man City