Every Premier League fan will hope their club starts the season well, but Vitor Pereira’s Wolves have been handed a difficult task hosting Manchester City on the opening day.
Preparations for the opening game haven’t gone great for Wolves, who have struggled to pick up results across pre-season, leaving supporters less than optimistic for Saturday evening’s game.
Additionally, Wolves fans were left unhappy by a pre-match decision made by the Premier League, adding even more doubt to the Old Gold’s chances.
However, one Vitor Pereira stat could provide hope as Pep Guardiola’s side travel to Molineux in the first matchday.
Wolves manager Vitor Periera hugging Pep Guardiola at full-time of Premier League game at the Etihad in 2024/2025
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
Vitor Pereira holds excellent opening day record as manager
Vitor Pereira seems to be an opening day specialist, and holds a record that could give Wolves fans a glimmer of hope.
The Portuguese manager has only lost one of his last ten inaugural games of a league campaign across six different clubs. That came last season, with his Al Shabab side going down 1-0 to El Ettifaq.
Additionally, the Wolves boss has won eight of those ten, giving him an 80% win rate on opening day.
Club Result
Al Shabab – 2024/2025 1-0 loss vs El Ettifaq
Corinthians – 2022 3-1 win vs Botafogo
Fenerbahce – 2021/2022 1-0 win vs Adana Demirspor
Shanghai SIPG – 2020 4-0 win vs Hebei FC
Shanghai SIPG – 2019 4-0 win vs Shanghai Shenhua
Shanghai SIPG – 2018 8-0 win vs Dalian Professional
Fenerbahce – 2015/2016 2-0 win vs Eskisehirspor
Al Ahli – 2013/2014 3-1 win vs Al Faisaly
FC Porto – 2012/2013 0-0 draw vs Gil Vicente
FC Porto – 2011/2012 1-0 win vs Vitória Guimarães SC
Vitor Pereira’s last 10 opening day results
While his record may be incredible on the opening day, Wolves are hosting Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City at Molineux, so they will need more than just a record in order to pull out a result.
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When it comes to getting results in the first game of a campaign, Vitor Pereira seems to know what he is doing, and fans will be hoping the performances in pre-season aren’t a sign of things to come on Saturday.
How Wolves usually fare on Premier League opening day
When it comes to how Wolves usually perform at the start of the season, they also seem to fare pretty well. The Molineux side are unbeaten in their last four opening fixture games when playing at home.
However, their record away from home brings their overall percentage down quite a bit. They have lost their last four games in the season’s kick-off, and their average across the last ten comes at just a 30% win rate.
Fans of the Old Gold will be hoping Pereira’s previous experience in such games can help them pull off a shock result, as there are pundits that believe Wolves will find themselves battling relegation.
Either way, no matter the result, Pereira will likely be holding out for more signings coming through the door before the end of the window.