(Football news) Following a 2-1 loss in the rematch at Molineux nearly eight months prior, Manchester City will be looking for retribution against the Old Gold.
Man City won both of their games last weekend at the City Ground, securing maximum points in Pep Guardiola’s 300th Premier League encounter. This came just three days after the team easily defeated Brighton & Hove Albion 4-0.
Midway through the first half, Josko Gvardiol headed home the first goal for the Citizens. Less than ten minutes after coming on as a replacement, Erling Haaland scored a goal to commemorate his injury comeback and move him onto 21 goals at the top of the Premier League scoring rankings.
Manchester City could find themselves four points adrift of title rivals Arsenal at the summit if the Gunners beat Bournemouth in an earlier kickoff on Saturday, but the Citizens will then have two games in hand and can reduce the gap at the top to just one point with success over Wolves.
After three consecutive away matches, Manchester City will welcome a return to the Etihad where they have put together an impressive 42-game unbeaten run across all competitions, matching a club record set between 1919 and 1921 – avoiding defeat on Saturday would see the Citizens break this record outright.
Guardiola and co, who have also not lost home or away in their last 31 matches in all tournaments (another club record), will be confident of success against a Wolves side whom they have beaten in seven of their last eight home league meetings, scoring 19 goals in the process.
After seven games without a win in all competitions, Wolves edged past relegation-threatened Luton Town by a 2-1 scoreline at Molineux last weekend to boost their chances of securing a top-half finish in the Premier League.
Hwang Hee-chan opened the scoring with his first league goal since December, before Toti Gomes added a second just five minutes after the break. Carlton Morris then pulled one back for the Hatters 10 minutes from time to set up a nervy finish for the hosts, but they held on to claim all three points for the 13th time this season.
Gary O’Neil, who will not be in the dugout on Saturday after being handed a one-match touchline ban by the Football Association for his conduct after last month’s defeat by West Ham United, now sees his side sitting 11th in the Premier League table and just three points behind the Hammers in eighth, while the Old Gold are seven points adrift of Newcastle United in seventh with only three games remaining, so it is fair to say that their hopes of sneaking into the European positions are slim.
Following a five-game run of consecutive victories away from home at the start of 2024, Wolves has lost its last four away games and will conclude the season with two of the most difficult journeys in the Premier League—to Man City and Liverpool.
One of the Old Gold’s triumphs during this run of victories came at Man City (0-2) in October 2019. The Old Gold have lost 18 of their past 20 Premier League away games against teams in the top two. O’Neil’s club has good reason to be optimistic about pulling off a shock on Saturday, since they are one of just three elite teams to consign the champs to defeat this season.
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