Wolves are back in Premier League action on Thursday night, with Manchester United the visitors to Molineux.
The players and fans are on a high after Sunday’s 2-0 win over West Bromwich Albion in the FA Cup fourth round, and there is optimism that Wanderers can get a result against the Red Devils.
United have been erratic this season, and got very lucky against Wolves in the reverse fixture back at Old Trafford back in August.
The failure to award a penalty to Wolves for the challenge by Andre Onana on Sasa Kalajdzic was baffling, and the 1-0 defeat is likely to serve as fuel for the players on Thursday.
Chris Sutton makes score prediction ahead of Wolves v Man United
Wolves games against United are never goal-fests and tend to be quite close, and in recent times, United have tended to get the better of Wanderers.
Wolves have won just one of the last 11 meetings, and have only beaten United three times since becoming a top-flight club again in 2018.
The last win came when Joao Moutinho scored at Old Trafford in January 2022, a result that made a lot of people stand up and take note of Wolves, with many believing Bruno Lage was doing a brilliant job at the time.
Wolves are now a totally different outfit under Gary O’Neil, and Wolves go into this game having gone unbeaten in the last games across all competitions.
Chris Sutton has been casting his eye over the midweek games in the Premier League, and he believes Wolves being unlucky in the reverse fixture will help them pick up a point at Molineux.
Predicting a 1-1 draw, he said (BBC Sport): “This is a tough game for United and Wolves will still feel hard done by after creating so many chances at Old Trafford in August, when they were the better team and still losing the game.
“United are getting their injured players back, like Lisandro Martinez and Casemiro, but I am still not convinced by them as a team.
“They are good on the counter, but Wolves are well balanced and I don’t think they will get caught out too often there. Gary O’Neil’s side are hard to beat, so I am going to go with a draw.”
Wolves can beat United
It’s a great time to be playing United, who have won just one of their last six in the Premier League.
The Red Devils scraped past League two Newport County in the FA Cup on Sunday, and Wolves will fancy their chances of another big scalp.
Gary O’Neil has masterminded wins over Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea already this term, and Wanderers do generally tend to play better against the Premier League’s big boys.
So many players are great form right now. Matheus Cunha has been going from strength to strength, with O’Neil hailing the Brazilian as ‘excellent’ after the win over West Brom, while Tommy Doyle looks a class-act in midfield.
It’s Molineux under the lights, and O’Neil will see this as a genuine opportunity for three more points.