Premier League champions Manchester City travel to the West Midlands for a showdown against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Here is a preview.
Wolves present a potential banana skin when Manchester City visits for a 2024/25 Premier League fixture that always delivers a spectacular performance from either team.
Man City have seven wins from their last eight games against Wolves, but their last meeting at the Molineux was a memorable day-out for the home side who enjoyed the first big win of the Gary O’Neil era.
The Citizens will be out for revenge against the Old Gold after that 2-1 defeat, making this a particularly eye-catching fixture.
O’Neil has done wonders for Wolves given the emergency in which he was handed the job, as he replaced Julen Lopetegui who left due to a dispute over the transfer budget after guiding the club to a 13th-place finish in 2022/23.
The Englishman came in only a matter of days to the first game of the new season and steadied the ship after a rocky start, with the home win against City turning around the mood within the club.
Even though their season petered out into a 14th-place finish, Wolves had gathered more points (46) than they did in the previous campaign (41).
Injuries certainly played their part, and there is more to look forward to with better preparation this season.
Wolves play their first two games of the new campaign against Arsenal and Chelsea, while they will have played all of last season’s top four by the time they face City.
It is pertinent that they get their campaign off to a flyer, but they can count on being the first team to beat the reigning treble winners last term as O’Neil became only the second English coach to beat Pep Guardiola’s Man City.
The Cityzens start another season as the team to beat and Guardiola must continue to harness the overwhelming position of strength they find themselves in. Having won the Premier League in six of the last seven seasons, opponents go into each season knowing they stand little chance against this football juggernaut.
It is left to the chasing pack to catch up, and to continue to win, their manager must bolster the competitive edge in his squad with some smart signings in the summer transfer window.
The Spaniard is carefully scrutinising the kinds of players who can improve his side after they won the league title for a fourth consecutive season, but were beaten in the FA Cup final and failed to retain the UEFA Champions League.
Indeed, the Sky Blues haven’t lost a top-flight match since December 6 against Aston Villa, and they will be keen to assert their credentials early on this season.
In Wolves, they face a stubborn opponent that has caused them troubles in previous years, but they will be aiming to bring their ruthless side here.
Match tickets
This Premier League fixture takes place on Saturday, 19 October 2024 with kick-off scheduled for the traditional slot at 3 PM UK time. Match tickets are available for sale on each club’s website but note that season ticket holders and club members will be given priority consideration.
The Molineux Stadium is the venue for this encounter and we can’t see past a full house when the Premier League champions come to town. Wolves are a proud outfit and their fans will be in a strong voice to try to upset the favourites, hence their 31,750-capacity ground should be rocking with passion.
Tickets will be scarce for this fixture and official sources are set to be overwhelmed, so we urge supporters looking for Wolves vs Man City tickets to find them on a resale site.
Team news
Wolves have confirmed Mario Lemina as the new club captain following the departure of Max Kilman to West Ham United. They have gone about their summer transfer business with a different approach given their struggles with Financial Fair Play restraints last summer; the likes of Rodrigo Gomes, Pedro Lima, Tommy Doyle and Jorgen Strand Larsen have been signed.
Meanwhile, they have been dealt a blow ahead of the new season after Enso Gonzalez suffered a serious knee injury.
City have been relatively quiet in the transfer market so far, with Brazilian winger Savinho the only player to join, but one man whose future is uncertain is Julian Alvarez. The Argentine striker is growing frustrated with a lack of game time and has been linked with a way out of the Etihad Stadium, while City are set to demand £60million for the 24-year-old.
Meanwhile, the Sky Blues remain in the race to sign highly-rated Benfica midfielder Joao Neves this summer and they will also rival Barcelona for the signature of Dani Olmo.
Line-ups
O’Neil has elected for a back-four during pre-season as he seems set to change from the three he used during his debut campaign. The sale of Kilman opens the door for an experienced centre-back signing, but this is their strongest side at the time of writing.
Wolves: Sa; Semedo, Bueno, Toti, Ait-Nouri; Bellegarde, Lemina, Gomes; Neto, Cunha, Hwang
Phil Foden was the star of City’s show last season as he was crowned the Premier League’s Player of the Season and FWA Footballer of the Year after 19 goals and eight assists in 35 league outings.
Erling Haaland is one to keep an eye on having scored two hat-tricks against Wolves in as many seasons with City. The onus will be on the Norwegian to punish the hosts’ defence with the exquisite service that comes his way.
Manchester City: Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol; Rodri, Kovacic; Silva, De Bruyne, Foden; Haaland
Prediction
As expected, Man City are huge favourites having scored at least three goals in six of their last eight games against Wolves while Haaland has scored eight times in four games against the Old Gold.
All evidence suggests the visitors will win, but there is reason for O’Neil’s men to be confident of pulling off an upset. This may go either way, depending on who wants it more once the game starts.
Wolves 1-4 Man City
