Always Wolves
Always Wolves
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MATCH PREVIEW: WOLVES V MANCHESTER UNITED
TEAM NEWS
Wolves, are without suspended midfield anchor Joao Gomes and injured stand-in Marshall Munetsi (calf), meaning Jean-Ricner Bellegarde should drop deeper alongside Andre. They also have late fitness doubts over Ladislav Krejci, Fer Lopez and Hugo Bueno, while Rodrigo Gomes, Leon Chiwome and Daniel Bentley are all ruled out.
Manchester United hope to welcome back Matthijs de Ligt after his late injury setback against West Ham, while Diogo Dalot is also expected to be available despite a knock on Thursday. However, Harry Maguire (thigh) and Benjamin Sesko (knee) remain sidelined until later this month. Matheus Cunha, recently back from a head injury, faces his former club after recording 21 Premier League goal involvements for Wolves last season, though he has just one so far for United.
ROB EDWARDS
Edwards confirmed Marshall Munetsi has had a scan today, adding “we think he’s pulled his calf but we don’t know the full details yet”.
Joao Gomes was booked in Wednesday’s defeat against Nottingham Forest so will be unavailable for the visit of United: “It’s frustrating that it wasn’t even a foul and now he’s suspended.”
Reflecting on the latest loss, Edwards said: “If we’re going to lose, how do we want to lose? Speaking to the players and getting feedback was good – we don’t want to lose in that manner again. That lack of consistency is one of the reasons we’re here. The disappointment was that we saw a really good level on Sunday and three days later, it was different.”
On pressure to record Wolves’ first win of the season: “It’s the life of what we do. Everyone is under pressure. Mikel [Arteta] will for different reasons. How do we lift it? By being consistent. We have to be living like we’re a winner on and off the pitch.”
On his discussions with the club’s board about January transfers: “It was good. There is going to be a lot going on between now and January, with certain plans for different scenarios. It was a positive meeting. We were able to give feedback on the group we have and potential targets. That stuff will all be live and evolve as we go throughout the month.”
On fatigue in the squad: “There will be some tired bodies but you expect that. They’re all right but there’s a lot of disappointment. We reviewed things this morning and left the room with some clarity to go forward with.”
On the challenge posed by Ruben Amorim’s Red Devils: “They have loads of really good players and a clear way of playing, which we will have a really good look at. I have to focus on us and we have to turn up. I don’t want to see what we saw in the first half last night.”
MATCH STATS & FACTS
Wolves did the Premier League double over Manchester United last season, as many victories as they’d managed in their previous 14 against the Red Devils (W2 D3 L9).
Manchester United lost this exact fixture 2-0 last season but haven’t lost consecutive league visits against Wolves at Molineux since August 1980.
Manchester United have only ever lost eight Premier League games against sides starting the day bottom of the table. However, 25% of these (2/8) have been against Wolves at Molineux (0-1 in January 2004, 1-2 in February 2011).
Wolves have won just one of their last 10 Monday night (7pm or later) games in the Premier League (D2 L7) and are winless in six since a 2-1 win against Everton in November 2021.
Manchester United are unbeaten in four away Premier League matches (W2 D2), having gone eight without a win on the road beforehand. They last had a longer unbeaten away run between November and February in the 2021-22 campaign (seven).
Manchester United have won just one of their last seven Premier League away games in December (D1 L5), beating Manchester City 2-1 at the Etihad last year.
Wolves have just two points from their 14 Premier League games this season, the joint-fewest ever at this stage of a top-flight campaign along with Manchester United in 1930-31 (2 pts/win) and Sheffield United in 2020-21.
Wolves have lost each of their last seven Premier League games, failing to score in each of the last five. In their league history, they’ve only lost eight in a row once (December 1981 to February 1982), while this is their longest run of defeats without a goal.
Man Utd’s Matheus Cunha has been involved in 11 goals in his last 12 Premier League appearances at Molineux (6 goals, 5 assists), scoring and assisting a goal in this exact fixture for Wolves last season.
Man Utd’s Bryan Mbeumo has either scored (3) or assisted (2) a goal in five of his six Premier League appearances against Wolves.
Bruno Fernandes has assisted in each of his last four away Premier League appearances, registering five assists. The Manchester United captain is looking to become the fifth player to assist in five away games in a row, after Muzzy Izzet in 2003, Cesc Fàbregas in 2014-15, Gerard Deulofeu in 2015 and Mohamed Salah in 2023.
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Miichael Salisbury. Assistants: Marc Perry, Nick Greenhalgh. Fourth official: Tom Bramall. VAR: Nick Hopton. Assistant VAR: Stuart Attwell.
FORM GUIDE (ALL COMPETITIONS)
MATCH PREVIEW: WOLVES V MANCHESTER UNITED
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