Wolves travel to Manchester City on Saturday evening and former Arsenal forward Paul Merson has issued his prediction for the match.
All the odds are stacked against Wolves securing a positive result against Manchester City tomorrow evening.
At the best of times, going to the Etihad and pulling off an upset is difficult, but when you’re missing key players – like Wolves are – it’s a seemingly impossible task to deny the champions any joy.
Gary O’Neil is still without key attackers Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Pedro Neto while defensive titan Craig Dawson has been a huge miss to the Old Gold.
Although the majority are resigned to a Wolves defeat, which is a reasonable assumption as Man City are unbeaten at home in the Premier League this term, they can still hurt Pep Guardiola’s defence on the counter.
Attackers Matheus Cunha and Hwang Hee-Chan are at their best when breaking at pace, and that is how they pulled off a famous 1-0 victory over the champions in September.
Paul Merson issues Manchester City vs Wolves prediction
Pretty much everyone predicting this game has opted for a Man City win, a result that would take them a giant step closer to a fourth Premier League title in a row.
Ex-Arsenal star and current pundit Paul Merson is no different, predicting a comfortable 3-0 victory for Guardiola’s men in his column for Sportskeeda.
The 56-year-old wrote: “I can’t see anything but a Man City win. Wolves have gone off the boil in recent weeks, but they’ve been severely hampered by injuries this season.”
Wolves will play the role of coupon busters this weekend while aiming to dent City’s title hopes.
How Wolves can beat Manchester City
The Old Gold’s most realistic chance of taking points away from the Etihad is by soaking up pressure in a low block and hitting them on the counter.
Wolves scored their only shot on target and recorded 31% possession in September’s meeting, with the visitors failing to score from their eight on target.
First and foremost, as they did on that occasion, O’Neil’s men will need to ride their luck and hope City don’t bring their shooting boots to the party.
They’ll also need to be adventurous on the break and spring forward in numbers. City usually leave a lot of space centrally, so if Wolves can bypass their press and the immovable wall of Rodri, there will be chances for them on the break.
Then it’s just the case of taking them, with Cunha showing he’s more than clinical enough to be the hero.
A trip to Man City is still the most difficult test on paper and the thought of coming against an in-form Kevin De Bruyne and a returning Erling Haaland is frightening.
But, O’Neil has shown he can outsmart Guardiola tactically. If he can do so again without a fully fit squad, it’ll be his most impressive achievement in management.