Manchester United welcome Wolves to Old Trafford in Monday Night Football to conclude the opening weekend of 2023-24 Premier League season.
After recovering from a rocky start to finish third last season, Man Utd will be looking to mount a title challenge this season following a summer revamp of the squad.
Wolves meanwhile enter this season looking to build upon their 13th-placed finish but are now under new management of Gary O’Neil, after Julen Lopetegui resigned just days before the season commenced.
Team News
Summer signing, Rasmus Højlund is ruled out for Man Utd with a back injury.
Tom Heaton (calf), Dean Henderson (thigh), Kobble Mainoo (ankle), Anthony Martial (hamstring), Tyrell Malacia and Amad Diallo (both knee) are also sidelined.
Andre Onana and Mason Mount could make their Utd debuts, whilst Jonny Evans looks to make his first appearance for the Red Devils since he rejoined on a free transfer from Leicester this summer – eight years after he left for West Bromwich Albion
Wolves could be without Matheus Cunha after he missed training this week with a minor issue.
Goalkeeper, Tom King could be in line for his debut whilst defender, Matt Doherty could make his competitive return to Wolves’ line-up following his decision to re-join the club this summer from Atletico Madrid.
When is Kick-Off?
Man Utd meet Wolves at Old Trafford on Monday 14 August in a 8pm BST kick-off live on Sky Sports in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Man Utd have lost just one of their last eight league meetings against Wolves (W5, D2, L1).
- Wolves have won just one of their last five league visits to Utd (W1, D2, L2).
- Three of Utd’s last four meetings against Wolves have been settled by 1-0 results, except for the Red Devils’ 2-0 home win in May at Old Trafford.
- Antony is the only Man Utd player who scored more than one goal in pre-season, having scored in their 3-2 loss to Borussia Dortmund and 3-1 win over Lens.
- Wolves have kept three clean sheets in six pre-season games (W4, D2).
Prediction
Utd’s biggest issue last season was in terms of their central striker and despite their progress to solve that issue with Højlund’s arrival, he is out injured alongside Martial whilst Mason Greenwood’s future is unclear so Utd start this season with the same issue once more.
Marcus Rashford though is a solid player to fill that central position in the short-term but I do feel like they could do with another striker before the transfer window shuts, just to provide another option in that role unless Erik Ten Hag takes a risk on youngster, Shola Shoretire.
Wolves meanwhile have been a mess this summer with little incomings and some huge losses in Conor Coady, Nathan Collins, Ruben Neves and Raul Jimenez amongst others, whilst Lopetegui will be a huge loss in the dugout given his experience and expertise.
With that in mind, it will be impressive if O’Neil somehow can tactically guide Wolves to at least one point in his first game in charge with just five days of preparations, which is no easy task this close to the season with some huge players missing.
We also can’t ignore the fact that Wolves were last season’s lowest goalscoring team with just 31 goals, and haave lost nine goals alone from three departures this summer which is a huge worry unless O’Neil unlocks fresh firepower quickly.
On that note, I don’t expect a goalfest here but Utd surely should cruise to a clinical home win given Wolves’ issues.
Prediction: Manchester United 2-0 Wolves
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