Man U vs. Wolves
Venue: Old Trafford
Kick off: 3PM
Manchester United head into today’s Premier League encounter with Wolverhampton Wanderers having recorded three successive victories in all competitions, which includes a 3-0 win over Young Boys in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Wolves make the trip to Old Trafford having put together a four-match unbeaten streak of their own in the league and EFL Cup, and Nuno Espirito Santo will relish the chance to go head to head with a manager in Jose Mourinho under whom he featured during his playing days.
The August defeat to Tottenham Hotspur left Mourinho facing constant speculation about his future at United, but his side’s results since the beginning of September have eased claims of alleged tension behind the scenes.
United were expected to beat each of Burnley, Watford and Young Boys – all on the road – but seven goals have been scored in the process and it goes against the theory that Mourinho is a defensive-minded manager.
United still only sit in eighth position in the Premier League standings, but Mourinho will be optimistic that maximum points can be recorded from fixtures against Wolves, West Ham United and Newcastle United.
The club will likely find themselves in the top five should they meet their targets over the coming weeks, and with Liverpool meeting Manchester City before the next international break, there is an opening for Mourinho to get United back into contention at the top of the table.
Wolves on the other hand were given a fixture list which included a run of six games against teams who finished no lower than 13th spot in the standings last season, but the newly-promoted side have indicated that they have ambitions to finish well above that mark come May.
Nuno’s men suffered defeat at Leicester City on the second weekend of the campaign, but back-to-back wins over West Ham and Burnley – after an excellent draw against Manchester City – have really set tongues wagging up and down the country.
Wolves have only emerged victorious by a 1-0 scoreline in their last two games, but the manner of their performances has suggested that they are capable of running riot against one of their upcoming opponents.
Today’s match provides Nuno with the first chance to take his team to one of the “top six” clubs, but the Portuguese is unlikely to take a backwards step on Wolves’ visit to the Theatre of Dreams.
Man U possible XI: De Gea, Valencia, Smalling, Lindelof, Shaw, Herrera, Fred, Sanchez, Fellaini, Mata, Lukaku.
Wolves possible XI: Patricio, Bennett, Coady, Boly, Doherty, Neves, Moutinho, Jonny, Jota, Costa, Jimenez.