Manchester United face Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Molineux Stadium in their final Premier League game of the year on New Year’s Eve.
The Red Devils have had a good first half to the season under manager Erik ten Hag. They are currently just one point behind Tottenham Hotspur for the final Champions League spot with a game in hand.
Predicting who will finish in the top four this season is harder than winning at online casino games, but for now United have the opportunity to leapfrog Spurs to the fourth spot at least temporarily with a win at Wolves. The London outfit won’t be in league action until New Year’s Day against Aston Villa at home.
Current form
United’s form has been impressive with regular wins over the last few months. After two losses at the start of the season, the club have been victorious in nine of the next 13 league outings including a 3-0 triumph against Forest on Tuesday.
On the contrary, Wolves have had wins hard to come by and they picked up only their third victory of the top-flight campaign against Everton on the road on Boxing Day. They came from behind to win 2-1 in dramatic late fashion.
Head-to-head meetings
United’s record against Wolves has been a mixed bag since the latter’s return to the Premier League in 2018. In the last eight league meetings, the Red Devils have been on the winning side thrice.
Wolves have won two of those encounters – the last one being the 1-0 win at Old Trafford in January this year. United will be aiming to avenge that result in their final top-flight game of 2022.
Team News & Predicted Line-ups
United were without Scott McTominay and Victor Lindelof through illness against Forest. Diogo Dalot (hamstring), Jadon Sancho (special training programme) and Lisandro Martinez (holiday) were other high-profile players unavailable.
Despite this, United comfortable won the game 3-0 and Ten Hag may not make any changes. This would mean Luke Shaw continuing in central defence ahead of Harry Maguire, who is not completely fit after a bout of illness.
Predicted Man Utd line-up (4-2-3-1): David de Gea; Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Raphael Varane, Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia; Casemiro, Christian Eriksen; Antony, Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford; Anthony Martial.
Wolves currently have Chiquinho, Pedro Neto and Sasa Kalajdzic, who are out with long-term injuries. Boubacar Traore, Jonny Otto and Daniel Podence could, however, be fit for their final game before the New Year. Rayan Ait-Nouri looks set to return to the XI after his stoppage time winner at Everton.
Predicted Wolves line-up (4-3-3): Jose Sa; Nelson Semedo, Nathan Collins, Max Kilman, Rayan Ait-Nouri; Joe Hodge, Ruben Neves, Joao Moutinho; Hwang Hee-chan, Diego Costa, Daniel Podence.
Prediction
United have had an impressive restart to the campaign, scoring five goals in two outings without conceding. They should get the better of Wolves, who are the lowest scores in the league with just 10 goals from 16 games.
Their defensive record has also been far from convincing. They have conceded 11 goals in the last five league outings. We don’t see them keeping United quiet for long on Friday. It should be a routine win but with a slender margin.
Wolves 0-2 Man Utd
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