Wolves could not really have been dealt a much tougher opening Premier League fixture, with Manchester City in town this Saturday.
It has been a turbulent summer for Wolves, but the first game is now almost upon us.
City are the opponents at Molineux on Saturday evening – and it’s safe to say many fans are nervous for the contest.
City have spent a lot of money already this summer, and are likely looking to put a marker down early after they didn’t have the season they were hoping for in 2024/25.
Wolves have signed just three new players, and offloaded many more.
Wolves fans have blasted the way pre-season has gone, and it’s clear Vitor Pereira undoubtedly needs at least three or four more new faces to come in before the transfer window closes.
Ideally, some would arrive before Saturday’s game and be available – but that’s not looking likely.
Opening with City is certainly far from ideal, and there’s one statistic that will be a concern for Pereira.
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Erling Haaland has never not scored in his opening Premier League for Man City
Manchester City striker Erling Haaland battles with Wolves defender Craig Dawson.
Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images
Key to Wolves getting any kind of positive result on Saturday will be to defend well.
City have one of the most fearsome attacks in the world, with some of the options available to Pep Guardiola just plain scary.
And none come scarier than Erling Haaland, who’ll be raring to go after missing out on the Golden Boot to Mo Salah last season.
And worryingly for Wolves, since Haaland signed for City in the summer of 2022, he has always scored in their opening Premier League fixture, hitting five goals in three opening day fixtures.
Against West Ham United on his Premier League debut he scored two.
The following year against Burnley he hit another brace, and then last season he opened with a goal against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
What is Erling Haaland’s record against Wolves
Like most teams in the Premier League, Haaland has done a fair bit of damage to Wolves during his three years in England so far.
The Norwegian has scored a whopping eight times in just five appearances against Wanderers, although four of those came in one game in the 2023/24 season.
Erling Haaland vs Wolves
Appearances – 5
Goals – 8
Assists – 1
But Wolves did keep him at bay in the clubs’ last meeting at the Molineux, with Wolves winning that game 2-1 and Craig Dawson doing a job on City’s number nine.
This time around, it will likely be Emmanuel Agbadou who is tasked with keeping Haaland quiet.
Agbadou hasn’t played well in Wolves’ pre-season. But he remains the best defender at the club and if he is on it this weekend, Haaland’s 100% opening day record could come under threat.