Manchester United vs Wolverhampton Preview:
Possible starting lineups:
Manchester United:
De Gea; Tuanzebe, Maguire, Bailly, Telles; Fred, McTominay; Greenwood, Fernandes, Rashford; Cavani
Wolverhampton:
Patricio; Semedo, Coady, Saiss, Ait Nouri; Neves, Moutinho; Traore, Podence, Neto; Silva
Manchester United have 27 points, five less than first-placed Liverpool. However, United have a match in hand, so the difference could be cut to only two points. Ole Gunar Solskjaer is enjoying the moment and said his team play the best football. The actual form is really good, six victories and two draws on the last nine league matches. They managed to beat Everton, WBA, Southampton, West Ham, Sheffield United and Leeds, while shared the points with Manchester City and Leicester during the weekend. Solskjaer, who wasn't satisfied with the draw, has criticized the defending for both Leicester goals citing a lack of intensity from his players. Marcus Rashford opened the scoring in the 23rd minute when he got on the end of Bruno Fernandes' pass to slide in his 50th goal in the Premier League, before Harvey Barnes hit a fine equalizer eight minutes later. The finish of the match was very interesting. Fernandes had given United the lead with just over 10 minutes left, but Axel Tuanzebe diverted a close-range effort from Jamie Vardy into his own net in the 85th minute. The Red Devils were disappoint with the fact they dropped two points, but it remains the fact this is a good period. In addition, Manchester secured League Cup semi-final after beat Everton 2:0 on Wednesday night. The match was decided in the finish when Edinson Cavani and Martial scored the goals. The atmosphere in the squad is very good, while the players confidence is high. The busy festive schedule could be a problem for Solskjaer. Most of the players are ready for this match, but the Norwegian coach must consider some rotations with the clash against Aston Villa coming on Friday. For example, Edinson Cavani could start in attack in place of Anthony Martial. The Uruguayan striker has five goal involvements as a substitute in the Premier League this season (scored 3 and assisted 2), two more than any other player. It is clear he deserve the chance to play from the first minute. But there are some injury issues. Victor Lindelof, who was substituted during the match against Leicester due to a back injury, will miss the match. Lindelof has been nursing the injury throughout the season, confirming earlier in the campaign that he has played through the pain barrier at times. Considering Wan-Bissaka is rated as doubtful, Tuanzebe will probably start as left back. Midfielder McTominay suffered a groin injury in the match against Leeds United last weekend and he is rated as doubtful. Defenders Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo remain long-term absentees.
Wolverhampton have 21 points, six less than their actual opponents. Overall, they have 6 victories and 6 defeats so far in the Premier League, plus three draws. The current form is mixed, they have one win, one draw and one defeat on the last three matches. First they beat Chelsea with 2:1 at Moulinex. Pedro Neto's 95th-minute strike gave them a dramatic victory and deserved three points. Previously Daniel Podence had equalized in the 66th minute, while Giroud put the Blues ahead in the first half. Interesting to be mentioned, all four of Podence's league goals for Wolves have come against teams from London - two against Crystal Palace, one against Arsenal and Chelsea. In the next round Wolves lost 2:1 to Burnley at Turf Moor. Nuno's men were two goals down after 51 minutes and that result was actual until the 89th minute, when Portugal youth international Silva won a penalty and then converted from the spot to set the final result. He became the club youngest scorer in the Premier League at 18 years and 155 days old. In their most recent fixtures, Wolves shared the points with Tottenham. It was a match in which seven of the starting 11 for Wolverhampton were Portuguese players (Patricio, Nelson Semedo, Neto, Joao Moutinho, Silva, Podence and Ruben Neves). The Spurs led for 85 minutes after Tanguy Ndombele scored an early goal after just 57 seconds, but Romain Saiss found the back of the net in the finish. It is clear the absence of Raul Jimenez is a huge handicap. As You probably know, Jimenez suffered a severe head injury against Arsenal at late November and will be out for a longer period. Nuno gave a chance to 18-year-old striker Silva, their club record £35.6m summer signing from Porto. Nuno has three additional injury isses. Marcal, who struggled in the finish of the game on Sunday evening, will skip the match, while Rayan Ait Nouri is likely to replace him. Jonny Otto remains sidelined, while Leander Dendoncker and Willy Boly are rated as doubtful.
Manchester United vs Wolverhampton Prediction:
I expect Manchester United to win this match. The Red Devils are in good form, they have six victories and two draws on the last nine league matches. Wolverhampton, meanwhile, suffered on the last two away fixtures, losing 4:0 to Liverpool and 2:1 to Burnley. In addition, Solskjaer has bigger roster, something very important in the busy festive period. For example, players like Pogba, Cavani, Lingard, Matic, van de Beek and Tuanzebe were not starters against Leicester.
Manchester United vs Wolverhampton Pick: Manchester United to win @ 1.63 with
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