Wolves vs. Man U
Venue: Molineux
Kick off: 4:30PM
There will be a celebratory atmosphere in the air for Manchester United when they visit Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux this evening for their third match of the new Premier League season.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will oversee his 100th Premier League match in charge of the Red Devils and history could also be made, just days after the 20-time champions pulled off a sensational deal to bring Cristiano Ronaldo back to the club.
Friday, August 27 will go down as one of the most dramatic and celebrated days in recent Manchester United history as the Red Devils pulled off one of the most remarkable transfer hijacks ever seen in football.
Club legend Ronaldo looked destined for the blue half of Manchester at the beginning of the day but, within hours of news breaking that United themselves were also in the running, they had confirmed an agreement with Juventus to bring one of their greatest ever players back to Old Trafford.
The 36-year-old prodigal son will not join up with his new teammates until after the upcoming international break and will therefore play no part against Wolves, but the unexpected nature of his arrival – and the added bonus of stealing him from the grasp of title rivals Manchester City – is sure to give the whole club a major boost ahead of their trip to the Black Country.
It is a boost they arguably needed too following an underwhelming 1-1 draw away to Southampton last time out – a result which drained some of the early optimism raised by their opening-day, Bruno Fernandes-inspired hammering of Leeds United.
While their trip to St Mary’s will undoubtedly be regarded as two points dropped rather than one gained, the result also saw them equal Arsenal’s Invincibles record of 27 Premier League away games unbeaten.
If the Red Devils can avoid defeat today then they will have enjoyed the longest unbeaten away run in English Football League history, having not lost on the road in the Premier League since January 2020.
It will also be a landmark day for Solskjaer as he reaches a century of Premier League games in charge of the club – a milestone he looked unlikely to get to celebrate at numerous points during his time at the helm.
The Man United hierarchy have put their faith in the Norwegian with a long-term contract, though, and the stats back him up too – of the eight previous managers to have hit triple figures of league games in charge of the club, only Ernest Mangnall, with 54, has won more than Solskjaer’s tally of 52 from his previous 99.
The much-maligned manager is tracking even better than Sir Alex Ferguson, then, although he will be wary that of those eight previous centurions, only two of them – Sir Matt Busby and Tommy Docherty – won their 100th game in charge.
Collecting silverware is the next step for Solskjaer, and matches like today’s – against a team without a point or a goal in the league so far this season – are exactly the type they will need to win if they are to truly challenge for the title this term.
There is no doubt that, on paper at least, Man United now have the squad to do just that following the summer arrivals of Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane and now Ronaldo, but in Wolves they are likely to face a sterner test than the embryonic league table would suggest.
Bruno Lage’s side sit 17th in the early standings, one of five teams yet to register a point and one of only two teams – along with Arsenal – yet to hit the back of the net either.
The Midlands outfit are creating chances, then, but their problem has been putting them away – something Adama Traore has been particularly guilty of with two almost-identical one-on-one opportunities squandered already this term.
Wolves did find their groove in front of goal in the second round of the EFL Cup on Tuesday, with four different names on the scoresheet as they thrashed Championship outfit Nottingham Forest at The City Ground.
Another quick reunion with former boss Nuno Espirito Santo now awaits in the third round, when Wolves will look for revenge after being beaten by Tottenham Hotspur in their last league outing.
That result made it back-to-back 1-0 defeats to start the season, having also lost to Leicester City on the opening day, and including the end of last term they have now lost five successive Premier League games.
Wolves possible XI: Sa, Kilman, Coady, Saiss, Semedo, Neves, Moutinho, Marcal, Trincao, Jimenez, Traore.
Man U possible XI: De Gea, Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Maguire, Shaw, Fred, Matic, Sancho, Fernandes, Pogba, Greenwood.
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