Wolves will be searching for their seventh win in a row when the Old Gold visit the Etihad to face Manchester City.
A Friday night Premier League thriller is on the cards on matchday 35 for Wolves, as Vitor Pereira’s squad seek redemption against Man City.
Man City beat Wolves late at Molineux back in October, when John Stones scored in injury time to win Pep Guardiola’s side the game.
Now, the Citizens will face a very different version of the Old Gold with Pereira in charge, as Wolves are the team to beat in Europe.
The advice Vitor Pereira once gave Pep Guardiola to blow him away
Very few would’ve anticipated where Wolves would be now following the October defeat to City.
Back then, Gary O’Neil’s side sat bottom of the table with just one point on the board, giving City confidence to win the game late on.
Now, Guardiola will face a different Wolves side against a manager that he’s not only wary of, but once idolised.
In 2014, Guardiola and Pereira crossed paths and engaged in a remarkable conversation that left the City boss mind-blown.
Speaking to the Liverpool ECHO about the meeting, Diario Record executive editor David Novo recited the conversation between the two coaches.
“Vitor spent some days in Munich to see how Bayern played. He told us how he talked a lot with Pep Guardiola about football and particularly tactics,” Novo said.
“Vitor tells the story that he said: ‘Pep, in some games you expose your defence in the moment of transition. He was having lunch in a restaurant with Pep and they started to draw some tactical manoeuvres on the table cloth.”
Pereira then took it upon himself to offer Guardiola, who was manager of Bayern Munich at the time, some advice.
“Vitor said he told Pep: ‘I’m going to suggest something to you, if you take it, here it is.
“He then drew an exercise explaining how he’d already experienced the same problem with some of his teams in the past but he had solved the issue with that way. He illustrated it himself so Pep could use it to correct the problem.”
What came next was something that few managers can say with regard to Guardiola, as one of the Spaniard’s assistants revealed how impactful Pereira’s insight was.
“The next day, Guardiola’s assistant Manuel Estiarte came to Vitor and said: ‘What did you give to Pep? He spent all afternoon locked in his office. He was like a child with a new toy!’
“Then Pep himself came and asked: ‘Vitor, are you going to watch our training? I’m starting to do what you said.’”
Vitor Pereira’s record when facing Pep Guardiola
Pereira taught Guardiola a trick or two, as Novo noted that the City boss opted to build on ‘Vitor’s work and kept the idea’.
What the Wolves manager will now hope is that his advice doesn’t come back to haunt him, as the Old Gold face City at the Etihad next.
Guardiola and Pereira have faced each other once in their careers, a significant occasion when Porto and Barcelona met in the 2011 UEFA Super Cup final.
The Spaniard got the better of Pereira on that occasion, and now, the Wolves boss will be eager to get a win on the board against the coach he once inspired.