(Football news) The Red Devils will go into the clash in the bottom half of the table at this stage in the season for the first time since 1989, after being humbled on home turf by Bournemouth on Sunday.
If Ruben Amorim was not aware of the monumental task that was in front of him when he joined Manchester United last month, it has now been laid bare to him in brutal circumstances.
After losing 3-2 at home to Nottingham Forest, Manchester United were beaten 3-0 at home by the Cherries for the second successive season at the weekend, meaning the new manager has won just two of his first five league games in charge.
Being knocked out of the EFL Cup by Tottenham Hotspur last midweek now means that Amorim has overseen four defeats in his last six games, following a run of seven games unbeaten immediately after Erik ten Hag was sacked.
That makes their astonishing win away to rivals Manchester City even more of a surprise, and backing it up may prove tough, considering they have not won back-to-back away league games since February.
Six points must be targeted from their final two games of the year though, here at Wolves and at home to Newcastle United, because United then face Liverpool to start 2025, before facing Arsenal in the FA Cup a few days later.
The away support will look to the club’s Boxing Day record for some inspiration, considering no team in English football league history has won as many games on this day as Man United (54, 22 of which have come in the Premier League era), despite not keeping a clean sheet in any of their last 10.
Molineux has also been a favorite ground despite their troubles in recent years, because Manchester United will be seeking a fifth straight win at this venue after winning a 4-3 classic back in February.
Wolves also have a formidable recent Boxing Day record though, now having gone seven without defeat—winning five.
Spirits will be high among the home support too after they saw new manager Vitor Pereira guide them to a 3-0 win away to relegation rivals Leicester City last week.
That ended a four-game losing run and moved them to within two points of Leicester and safety already, with their last two wins now both coming away from home, scoring seven goals in the process.
Wolves’ dramatic start to the season is perfectly encapsulated by the fact they have scored either the same amount or more goals than six of the 10 teams in the top half (27).
A rare clean sheet last Sunday was a huge bonus, and they will now seek back-to-back shutouts for the first time since January ahead of what is a treacherous run of fixtures for Wolves.
Their next nine league opponents are all clubs who will fancy themselves to be in contention for either the title or the top four, including the current top three, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal.
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