Manchester City could have a four-point deficit to make up in the Premier League title race by the time they kick-off against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday evening.
City are once again in action after title rivals Arsenal this weekend, with the Gunners taking on Bournemouth during Saturday’s early kick-off.
Pep Guardiola’s side, who are chasing an unprecedented fourth-straight league title, are currently a point adrift of the Gunners having played a game less. The seasoned champions responded to Arsenal’s victory in the North London derby by grinding out a 2-0 win at Nottingham Forest.
One of their three league defeats this season actually occurred in the reverse fixture as Wolves did a job on the champions at Molineux back in September. Gary O’Neil has been lavished with praise for the work he’s done in year one at Wolves, even if their season is petering out somewhat.
Injuries certainly haven’t helped their cause, but a mid-table berth wasn’t the consensus projection heading into the season.
Here’s 90min’s preview of the game.
Man City vs Wolves H2H Record (Last Five Games)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Man City |
Wolves |
|---|---|
|
Nottingham Forest 0-2 Man City – 28/04/24 |
Wolves 2-1 Luton Town – 27/04/24 |
|
Brighton 0-4 Man City – 25/04/24 |
Wolves 0-1 Bournemouth – 24/04/24 |
|
Man City 1-0 Chelsea – 20/04/24 |
Wolves 0-2 Arsenal – 20/04/24 |
|
Man City 1-1 (3-4p) Real Madrid – 17/04/24 |
Nottingham Forest 2-2 Wolves – 13/04/24 |
|
Man City 5-1 Luton Town – 13/04/24 |
Wolves 1-2 West Ham – 06//04/24 |
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
SKY GO Extra, Sky Ultra HD, Sky Sports Premier League, Sky Sports Main Event |
|
United States |
NBC, Peacock, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, Telemundo |
|
Canada |
fuboTV |
Guardiola wasn’t overly optimistic over Ederson’s status for the rest of the season after he was forced off against Nottingham Forest last weekend. The Brazilian almost certainly won’t feature this weekend, so Stefan Ortega will start between the posts.
Ruben Dias is suffering with an illness and could miss out.
The rest of the City team pretty much picks itself with Erling Haaland returning to the XI. The only selection of contention arrives down the left where Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku are battling for a starting berth.
Man City predicted lineup vs Wolves (4-1-4-1): Ortega; Walker, Akanji, Ake, Gvardiol; Rodri; Bernardo, Foden, De Bruyne, Doku; Haaland.
Craig Dawson was excellent in the reverse fixture, but he won’t be available on Saturday due to a groin injury. Nelson Semedo is expected to slide into the back three.
Wolves are also without star winger Pedro Neto, who could return before the season concludes. Neto has been struggling with a hamstring injury.
Jean-Ricner Bellegarde is a doubt with an ankle issue.
Wolves predicted lineup vs Man City (3-5-2): Sa; Semedo, Kilman, Toti; Doherty, Gomes, Lemina, Traore, Ait-Nouri; Hwang, Cunha.
Wolves are blessed with the tools to trouble City, but they’re crucially again without Neto, who was key to their victory in the reverse fixture.
The visitors aren’t going to be able to counter-attack with the same vigour as a result, and they risk being penned in at a ground where City very rarely struggle.
While Arsenal’s likely victory could add an edginess to this game against a stubborn Wolves block, City are unlikely to flinch.
Prediction: Man City 3-0 Wolves
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90 Mins
