How Wolves could line-up at the start of the 2025/26 campaign
Wolves kick off their 2025/26 campaign with a challenging home clash against eight-time Premier League winners Manchester City at Molineux.
The Old Gold are looking to end a run of four consecutive defeats on the opening day of the season in a run which stretches all the way back to 2020 when the West Midlands outfit last kicked off the season with three points after beating Sheffield United 2-0 in Nuno Espirito Santo’s last season in charge.
Wolves started the season in disastrous fashion last term by failing to win any of their opening 10 matches before finally breaking their duck against Southampton on matchday 11.
That run led to Wolves flirting with relegation for large chunks of the season before a mid-term turnaround under the guidance of Vitor Pereira when he replaced Gary O’Neil in December.
The experienced Portuguese coach will be more than aware of the importance of a fast start, and as such will look to get his business done as early as possible to make up for the losses of both Rayan Ait-Nouri to Manchester City and even more notably Matheus Cunha to Manchester United.
With that in mind, we take a look at how Wolves could line-up next season for their opening against title hopefuls Man City.
Goalkeeper and defence
Wolves are expected to renew their interest in Lazio goalkeeper Christos Mandas ahead of the new season, according to Italian outlet Corriere della Sera. The Old Gold were linked with the Greek international throughout last summer amid reports that Jose Sa was considering a move to Saudi Arabia. The uncertainty surrounding Manda's future comes following the return of Maurizo Sarri who is said to favour Ivan Provedel between the posts.
Elsewhere, Kyle Walker-Peters is a strong candidate at right-back to potentially replace Nelson Semedo if the Portuguese international decides to depart this summer. Semedo is set to become a free agent this summer while Walker-Peters is also without a club after opting to leave relegated Southampton.
In central defence, Wolves have typically played with three in the middle - and it’s expected that Emmanuel Agbadou after his strong end to last season will remain in defence alongside Toti Gomes after his strong end to the season.
Reports suggest that ex-club captain Conor Coady, who played in a back three under Nuno Espirito Santo could be brought back to Wolves following Leicester’s relegation although Rangers are also interested.
Meanwhile, at left-back following Rayan Ait-Nouri’s exit, Wolves could move for Clement Bischoff from Brondby. It awaits to be seen how much Brondby would demand to sell Bischoff but Brighton agreed a £7 million deal back in February before seeing it fall through.
Midfield and attack
Brazilian international Andre and Joao Gomes proved an effective pairing throughout last term, particularly in the second half of the campaign as the former showcased his ability to adapt to a new league. Ahead of them, it’s likely £19.5m signing Fer Lopez will be a starter in the central-attacking midfield role as he follows in the footsteps of last summer’s loan signing Jorgen Strand- Larsen.
Further incomings are likely to follow with the Matheus Cunha funds being used to full effect, and it’s possible that Wolves could look to splash the cash on out-of-favour Liverpool ace Harvey Elliott, who struggled for regular minutes last term.
In attack and leading the lines after scoring 14 league goals in his debut season will be Strand-Larsen after his loan move from Celta Vigo was made permanent.
Potential Wolves line-up v Man City: Mandas, Walker-Peters, Agbadou, Toti, Coady, Bischoff, Gomes, Andre, Elliott, Lopez, Strand-Larsen
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