Manchester City came from 2-0 down to beat Tottenham 4-2 on Thursday and will need to be similarly sharp when improving Wolves visit on Sunday.
After crashing out of the EFL Cup via a 2-0 defeat at Southampton, City went down to a controversial 2-1 loss against Manchester United in last Saturday’s derby. Thursday’s first half against Spurs will have worried Pep Guardiola but his side showed both skill and spirit to turn the game around.
Sunday’s opponents Wolves seem to be a far more rounded side under new boss Julen Lopetegui than the one that were outclassed 3-0 by the Citizens at Molineux in September, when Nathan Collins was sent off after 33 minutes with his team already 2-0 down.
Wolves were last seen losing 1-0 to Liverpool in the FA Cup, but won their most recent league match at home to West Ham 1-0.
Having almost matched the likes of Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag and Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp already in his reign, Lopetegui will be excited about the prospect of facing his former Barcelona teammate Guardiola.
Manchester City vs Wolves Betting Tips
- Manchester to win and both teams to score @ 9/5
- #PickYourPunt – Over 3.5 Goals, Erling Haaland to score at anytime and Ruben Neves to be booked @ 11/2
Team news
City look to be getting bodies back with Guardiola having a close to fully fit squad to choose from.
Kevin De Bruyne was an unused substitute against Tottenham and is likely to come into the side, while Rico Lewis’ performance against Spurs perhaps warrants him again being selected ahead of Kyle Walker.
Wolves are expected to hand a debut to new signing Pablo Sarabia, who signed from Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday, while fellow new arrival Mario Lemina is back available after being ineligible to face Liverpool in the FA Cup.
However, Sasa Kalajdzic (knee), Pedro Neto (ankle), Chiquinho (knee) and Boubacar Traore (groin) are all absent.
Manchester City vs Wolves betting tips
Manchester to win and both teams to score @ 9/5
Wolves have kept just one clean sheet in their last 13 Premier League away matches and have conceded eight goals in this pair’s last two meetings.
Lopetegui will have them well-organised but even a wounded Citizens side are dangerous and they have netted a league-best 35 home goals this season.
However, they have been a bit open at the back, failing to keep a clean sheet in six of their last seven league matches, while Wolves have an in-form forward in Daniel Podence, who has scored three goals in his last four league outings.
It could be an open and exciting affair and a home win and both teams to score might be the way to go.
#PickYourPunt – Over 3.5 Goals, Erling Haaland to score at anytime and Ruben Neves to be booked @ 11/2
That could well mean over 3.5 goals are scored on Sunday and if so, Erling Haaland is sure to feature. The Norwegian’s so-called drought of three games without scoring by netting against Tottenham took his tally to 22 goals for the season.
Haaland scored in September’s 3-0 win and will be confident of exposing a defence that although improved under Lopetegui, still lacks a certain cohesion.
That lack of shape often leads to other players having to take responsibility for Wolves, namely captain Ruben Neves.
As of writing, the Portuguese midfielder’s tally of seven yellow cards is the most in the Premier League this season. One of those came against City earlier in the season and having also been cautioned at the Etihad last term, might be one to keep an eye on.
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