Wolves v Man Utd – Preview, Predictions, and Best Bets

Wolves host Man Utd in the English Premier League on Thursday. The teams are just three points apart in the league table. Wolves have won four of their last five home league fixtures whilst United have lost three of their last four on the road.

Wolves Form

Wolves are seven matches without defeat in all competitions, four in the league and three in the FA Cup. A late 2-1 home win over Tottenham was followed by three defeats in the next five league fixtures. Some outstanding form has followed, winning 2-1 at home to Chelsea and winning 4-1 at Brentford.

A 3-0 home win over Everton preceded an FA Cup victory in a replay over Brentford (1-1 away, 3-2 at home). In their last league match, they ground out a valuable 0-0 draw at Brighton and then won 2-0 at West Brom in the FA Cup last weekend.

Wolves Team News

Joao Gomes missed this match in midfield due to suspension. Boubacar Traore is away on AFCON duty with Mali so Tommy Doyle could start in the engine room.

Rayan Ait-Nouri is back and likely to start after Algeria’s early exit. Hee-Chan Hwang is doubtful in attack and Pablo Sarabia will need a late fitness test on a calf injury. Pedro Neto is fully fit again and will partner Matheus Cunha in the frontline.

Wolves Motivation

Confidence and morale is high under Gary O’Neill. Wolves won’t fear United and will take the game to them.

Wolves will play to win this match, even if they may drop into a back five and use counter attacks in certain stages of this clash too.

Man Utd Form

United are ninth in the league table and 11 points off the Champions League places. Their last 26 matches have yielded just 11 wins. After three losses in four without scoring, they came from 2-0 down at home to Aston Villa to win 3-2.

After reverting to type to lose 2-1 at Nottingham Forest, they won 2-0 at Wigan in the FA Cup third. Two leads were surrendered in a 2-2 home league draw vs Tottenham. Last time out, they won 4-2 at lower league opponents in Newport Town in the FA Cup.

Man Utd Team News

Erik Ten Hag is without Sofyan Amrabat after his AFCON involvement whilst this match comes too soon for Mason Mount in midfield. Aaron Wan-Bissaka should be back, and Marcus Rashford is set to shake off an illness to feature.

Anthony Martial is absent after surgery and Tyrell Malacia is still absent. Victor Lindelof will also play no part, but Lisandro Martinez is fit again to start in central defence and Andre Onana is back from Cameroon duty.

Man Utd Motivation

United need a win or their top four hopes will diminish further.

Ten Hag won’t care about pretty football or possession here – he needs to be pragmatic and grind out a victory.

Key Stats

Wolves have lost just 2 of 9 home EPL matches this season

Wolves have beaten Man City, Spurs & Chelsea at home this season

Wolves are 7 matches unbeaten in all competitions

Man United have won 6 of their last 7 matches against Wolves (all competitions)

Man Utd have kept clean sheets in 8 of their last 10 matches vs Wolves (all competitions)

Man Utd have lost 3 of their last 6 league matche

Verdict

This could be a really close match. Wolves have shown their ability to beat the top teams at home this season and could heap misery on Man Utd at Molineux.

Best Bet: Wolves win at 2.65
Alternative Bet: Wolves win/draw double chance + Under 3.5 goals at 2.15

James O'Connor

James is a football analyst who writes about the tactics of the PSL and English Premier League. He holds the UEFA A coaching licence and has previously worked for several clubs in analysis roles.Twitter: https://twitter.com/footy_analysis