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Manchester City begin their Premier League campaign away at Molineux as they take on Wolves in what promises to be an intriguing clash.
City boss Pep Guardiola failed to win a single major trophy last season, marking the first time that has happened in seven years.
Trophyless Guardiola seasons come around less frequently than leap years, and this latest instance is unlikely to be repeated as the Citizens have dug deep into their pockets during the transfer window.
Despite being involved in a legal case regarding 115 alleged breaches of financial rules, City have decided to stick a big middle finger to the rest of the competition and splash a cool £153m…so far.
When you couple that with the £180m they spent in the winter, City’s total bill comes to over £330m – a level of investment that normally comes normally attracts big expectations. In City’s case, that expectation will be to re-enter the title picture.
That, of course, is a lot easier said than done. City are not the only ones who have thrown around money this summer, with the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal also guilty.
What’s more, City’s summer was somewhat interrupted by the Club World Cup – a competition which saw them reach the round of 16 before being dumped out by Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal.
Wolves don’t have the same financial resources as their upcoming opponents, but that didn’t stop the club from splashing over £50m on some much-needed firepower.
Jorgen Strand Larsen, for instance, scored 14 goals for Wolves last season during a successful loan spell from Celta Vigo. That left the club no choice but to spend £23m on his permanent signing.
Vitor Pereira, who took over the club last December and steered them away from relegation, has now had the luxury of a pre-season and will be hoping for a strong start to the campaign – starting with Saturday’s tricky game against City.
Don’t forget, you can get more stats and follow the game minute-by-minute with our new Live Scores centre.
Wolves team news
Wolves lost a host of influential names over the summer, with Matheus Cunha going to Man United, Rayan Ait-Nouri going to City and Nelson Semedo leaving for Fenerbahce.
To make matters worse, the club head into their season opener without the injured trio of Leon Chiwone, Yerson Mosquera and Fabio Silva.
Despite this, Pereira is likely to stick with his favourite 3-4-3 formation, which brought him a lot of success earlier this year.
When it comes to goals, there’s no doubt that the team are relying on new permanent signing Larsen, who rattled the net 14 times in 35 Premier League games last term.
Wolves predicted line-up
Man City team news
The big news concerning City is the likely absence of Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, who continues to recover from his ruptured anterior cruciate ligament injury.
Mateo Kovacic and Kalvin Phillips also remain on the sidelines, while Phil Foden, Josko Gvardiol and Claudio Echeverri are all doubts.
Ait-Nouri and Matheus Nunes, who are both former Wolves players, are likely to feature, while new signing Tijjani Reijnders is pushing to make his Premier League debut.
Man City predicted line-up
Wolves v Man City: How to watch and listen
Fans will be able to watch Saturday’s clash live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League. Live radio commentary will be available on BBC Radio 5 Live.
Wolves v Man City stats
Man City have won nine of their last 10 Premier League meetings with Wolves.
Man City will start the campaign with an away game for the ninth season in a row.
Wolves have lost on matchday one in each of the last four seasons.
Man City have won their opening league game in 13 of their last 14 seasons.
Across the last five seasons, nobody has scored more goals against Wolves than City, with 14 to their name.
Vitor Pereira (Wolves) quotes
On focusing on Wolves’ own game and identity
“This is a special league, in my opinion the best in the world. It’s a pleasure to play at home with our supporters… We face a very strong opponent. Right now, training is about creating competition and happiness. Tactically, we are tired of working tactically. In my opinion, this is not the time to focus on tactics.”
On Wolves’ plan
“Of course, City will have more possession than us, but we will have chances to create… We need to show tactical maturity… I’m there to help them, but as a team we need to have a brain, and I believe we are ready and prepared.”
Pep Guardiola (Man City) quotes
On Rodri’s ongoing recovery
“Rodri is getting better, but he had a big injury in the last game against Al-Hilal. He has trained better in the last few days. Hopefully after the international break, he will be really fit.”
“Hopefully in these games, he can play some minutes, but what is important is that he doesn’t have pain because we don’t want Rodri coming back injured. We will try desperately to avoid that.”
On the previous season’s challenges:
“I want to suffer when I’m not winning games. I want to feel bad. I want to sleep badly. I want that when the situation goes bad, it affects me… I want that!”
Wolves v Man City referee stats
Jarred Gillett will be the man in the middle at Molineux as Wolves take on Man City in their season opener.
The 38-year-old took charge of 16 Premier League games last season, dishing out 68 yellow cards. Interestingly, he didn’t show a single red.
His last match featuring Man City took place last April when the Citizens thumped Crystal Palace 5-2.
His last Wolves game was almost exactly a year ago, with the official oversaw a 2-0 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates.
Wolves v Man City tips
Considering City’s summer of investment, coupled with some major Wolves departures, the visitors are expected to arrive at the Molineux and take all three points without too many dramas.
After all, the Citizens have won nine of their last 10 Premier League games against Wolves, including the previous three meetings.
On the other hand, Wolves have done rather well at home under Pereira. The team have lost just two of their last eight matches on home soil, with the likes of Aston Villa and Tottenham facing recent defeats at Molineux.
Backing Wolves to beat City would be rather ambitious, while backing the visitors makes little sense considering the current odds.
Instead, we are backing both teams to score in what should be a tasty season-opening encounter.
In terms of specific goalscorers, you cannot look past Erling Haaland. The City frontman has scored eight goals in five games against Wolves, and the Norwegian will be hungry for more. He is the favourite for the Golden Boot.
