Wolves are taking on Manchester United tonight at Old Trafford – and to say expectations of many Wanderers fans are low is probably an understatement.
It has been a chaotic past week at the club.
Julen Lopetegui left last week, and Gary O’Neil has come in as his replacement.
O’Neil did a great job keeping Bournemouth up last season.
But his appointment hasn’t gone down well with everyone.
But O’Neil is said to have really impressed sporting director Matt Hobbs during the interview process, and Hobbs feels he is up to the challenge.
Who knows, the underestimation of him might just prompt a shock result tonight.
But that’s not something Paul Merson can see happening…
Paul Merson predicts a whacking for Wolves against Manchester United amid ‘unbelievable’ situation
Merson recently made his predictions for the first round of Premier League fixtures.
It’s safe to say he does not think Wolves are about to pull off a shock at Old Trafford.
Predicting a 4-0 home win, he said (Sportskeeda): “What’s happened at Wolves is unbelievable. They’ve sacked their manager three days before their season starts. Directors and chairmen love someone they can run the show with. Gary O’Neill will come in and be very grateful for the job he’s got, and he’ll get on with it. The board will be happy.
“O’Neill will have a hard start at Wolves, and I worry for them this season. They’re playing a dangerous game where they’re relying on other teams to slip up in the bottom half of the table, and I’m not sure that will be the case.
“Wolves are in disarray at the moment – they’ve sacked their manager three days before a trip to Old Trafford. Manchester United won’t believe their luck, and I’m backing them to win this game.”
Wolves players should embrace the challenge and play without fear
The pressure is off tonight for the Wolves players.
The club go into the new season in a real mess and so, the expectations are that United will win this game relatively easily.
And so the players should try and use this, and play without fear.
Everything says they should come away with nothing tonight, so perhaps this will give them more freedom.
If everyone can just get the basics right, such as being organised and defending well, there could be a small chance of stealing a point.