Wolves vs Manchester City predictions: Clean sheet to elude Citizens again
- Manchester City have won with both teams scoring in four of last six league games
- Wolves have lost with both teams scoring in their last four Premier League matches
- Recommended Bet: Manchester City to win and Both Teams to Score
Unbeaten Manchester City face winless Wolves at Molineux on Sunday with the hosts looking for a repeat of the 2-1 win that kickstarted their campaign last year.
It was Gary O’Neil’s first home win as manager, but the Englishman is now under huge pressure with his side having taken just one point from their first seven league games to languish at the foot of the Premier League table.
City currently lie in second place, just a point behind leaders Liverpool.
They got back on track with a 3-2 home win over Fulham following draws against Arsenal and Newcastle in their previous two league games.
Team news
Wolves have been dealt another injury blow after Hee Chan Hwang sustained an ankle problem on international duty.
Yerson Mosquera was ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering a serious knee injury in last month’s defeat to Aston Villa, so Craig Dawson will continue to partner Toti Gomes in central defence.
As for City, Pep Guardiola does not think Kevin De Bruyne or Nathan Ake will be available for Sunday’s trip to Molineux.
De Bruyne has been sidelined for the past month after being forced off with a groin issue against Inter Milan in the Champions League.
Ake sustained a hamstring injury while on international duty with the Netherlands last month and has missed City’s last seven games.
The stats
Wolves have failed to win any of their opening seven games of a league season for the first time since 2004-05.
Defeat at Molineux on Sunday would mark the first time in Wolves’ history that they have lost their opening four home matches of a season.
Wolves have conceded six goals from set-plays already this term, the joint-most in the division. They conceded just 10 during the whole of last season.
Manchester City are unbeaten in 30 Premier League games, their joint-longest run in the competition.
Pep Guardiola’s side have shown admirable fighting qualities after coming back to win nine and draw two of the last 11 league games they have trailed in.
Prediction
The pressure is mounting on Gary O’Neil with Wolves languishing at the foot of the table and this fixture has the potential to get out of hand if the hosts over-commit to attack at any point.
That said, Rodri’s injury has left Manchester City more vulnerable at the back than they have been for several years.
City are far easier to counter-attack through the middle without the Spanish midfielder’s ability to sniff out danger and opponents have had greater success with through balls this season.
Wolves may not be blessed with extreme pace up front or abundant creativity in midfield, but they can cause problems in other ways too.
Striker Jorgen Strand Larsen is up and running with a couple of goals while Matheus Cunha and Rayan Ait-Nouri are both capable of making something happen from deeper areas.
City should still have enough quality to win at Molineux on Sunday, but it is worth opposing them to keep a first clean sheet since the opening weekend of the season.
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