Manchester City head to Wolves on Saturday evening as Premier League football returns this weekend. Once again, the Blues start away from home with the Black Country side the first to arrive in City’s firing line as Pep Guardiola’s side look to get their season off to a flying start.
The Blues are looking to take back the title from Liverpool after finishing third last season in a rather tepid campaign, and City will be eager not to have a repeat performance.
Last season’s corresponding fixture saw John Stones grab a last-minute winner after going a goal down in the seventh minute. Josko Gvardiol levelled 12 minutes before half-time, and the Blues had to wait for Stones to become the hero once again.
Saturday’s match will be the 12th Premier League meeting between the two at Molineux, with City winning six and losing four of the previous 11 fixtures. The Blues have won four of the last five matches, with City scoring 14 to Wolves five.
Overall, the two teams have faced each other 65 times in all competitions at Wolves, with City winning just 18 to Wolves 35, meaning Molineux has not been a happy hunting ground for the Blues in the past. In fact, City have suffered some very heavy defeats at Wolves, with the Blues suffering an 8-0 hammering in 1933, 5-0 in 1934, 7-3 in 1952, 7-2 in 1955, 5-1 in 1956 and 8-1 in 1962. A 5-1 thrashing in 1973 was the last heavy defeat the Blues have suffered at Wolves.
City have scored a total of 102 in this fixture whilst also keeping just ten clean sheets. Between April 1910 and August 1965, City failed to keep a clean sheet over a period of 28 matches. They have also failed to score on 16 occasions. On the other side, Wolves have scored 145 against the Blues. With almost 250 goals between them, we can expect quite a few more, hopefully for City, over the weekend.
City have started their season at Wolves on five occasions, losing two and drawing two and the only win they achieved on the first day of the campaign came in September 2020, the late start being due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
In total, the Blues have faced Wolves eight times in August and it is not good reading for the Faithful. City have lost five in total, drawn two and their only victory in the month came in 1965, which was a 4-2 win for the Blues. If that isn’t bad enough, City’s 8-1 hammering at Wolves on the opening day of the season was a catalyst for disaster - the Blues were relegated at the end of the season.
How will City fare at Wolves on Saturday?