Key events
Our equipment is tunneled… and here they come!
Email “Will City target Ait-Nouri?” asks Gary Stover. I'm not sure if that's today or as a left back in the future. I fear Wolves will struggle to retain him in January, but I wouldn't be surprised to see the space behind him attacked.
Hive Mind: Has anyone tried them? If so, are they useful for anything?
Also happening:
Is Molineux the worst away finish in the league? I maintain that it is shallow and runs along the entire side of the field.
I'm looking forward to seeing how the midfield battle goes. Lemina, Andre and Gomes will want the battle to be physical, because Gundogan and Silva, as wonderful as they are, do not have enough power. They could still beat Wolves, but it won't be easy.
I know O'Neil has opted for 3-5-2 to restrict space for City. but I wonder if a closed defensive block could also be a good way to counter the threat of Erling Haaland, one man capable of scoring, another of marking space and the other of solving problems. If the Wolves keep a low block, Haaland will have to come up short to get the ball, and that is far from his best asset.
A potential model for Wolves could be Newcastle, whose muscular and enterprising style regularly causes discomfort at City. Of course, Newcastle have better players, but Wolves can emulate their ability to make every contest physical.
Guardiola says that Walker returned injured from the break, so he has not traveled. But he is happy to play on Sunday as it means his players, the Brazilians in particular, have had an extra day to prepare, which is why Savinho starts.
Where is the game? Wolves will look to suppress the midfield, forcing City to go around them rather than through them; I imagine that's why Guardiola has chosen wingers and not wide attackers; For that reason, I wonder if Doku and Savio will play on their natural sides. Otherwise, the home side's two forwards could also pose a threat – Cunha looks a potentially tiring matchup for Stones, while Strand Larsen is a threat behind, even more so given the lack of pace in the center of the back four. City.
Speaking of City, they welcome back Nathan Aké (he is on the bench) as well as Manuel Akanji, who suffered a small blow to his international commitment. As such, Stones comes in at centre-back, while Jeremy Doku and Savinho start on the flanks, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish remain in reserve.
O'Neil is left without Yerson Mosquera, Sasa Kalajdzic, Enso González, Bastein Meupiyou, Boubacar Traoré – and now Hwang Hee-chan, injured playing with South Korea and out for about a month. Consequently, Matheus Cunha and Jørgen Strand Larsen come forward and have the ability to give John Stones and Ruben Dias a testing afternoon.
O'Neil tells Sky that Sam Johnstone was injured in training, so José Sa comes in and has been pushing for selection. Morale, he says, is good: Wolves have had a number of difficult games and generally played well, although the effort last time, against Brentford, was unacceptable. Although today is a difficult game, they believe they can turn things around and, having won this game last year, they know what it takes and how well they have to play to win.
Otherwise, you're taking the risk out of preparation because your players don't need complexity currently, but that's not why you've chosen five defensemen; He has always done it against City. Finally, he doesn't mind Guardiola or any other coach saying that Wolves are good, they just need to play well.
Teams!
Wolverhampton Wanderers: (3-5-2) sa; Well, Dawson, Gomes T; Semedo, Gomes J, André, Lemina, Ait-Nouri; Cunha, Larsen. Substitutes: Bentley, Doherty, R Gomes, Doyle, Sarabia, Forbs, Bellegarde, Guedes, Lima.
Manchester City (4-1-4-1): Ederson; Lewis, Stones, Dias, Gvardiol; Kovacic; Sávio, Gundogan, Bernardo, Doku; Haaland. Substitutes: Ortega Moreno, Carson, Ake, Grealish, Akanji, Nunes, Foden, O'Reilly, McAtee.
Referee: Chris Kavanagh (Manchester)
Preamble
That the league standings don't lie is one of the truest truisms in football. There is a metric specifically designed to tell us which team deserves to win a match (it is better known as “the score”) and these results are then compiled into a precise overall ranking that is beyond dispute. It sounds simple because it is.
And still! The Wolves, the aforementioned table tells us, are the second worst team, with one point in seven games, two less than Crystal Palace, which is above them, and the same as Southampton, which is below . But the feeling remains that they aren't, or at least shouldn't be that bad, and as such, Gary O'Neil is under serious pressure.
Will not expect any favors from city of manchester. Just as Wolves are more than a number in a column, so are the champions, the relentless build-up of Guardiola's early years replaced by the sinister certainty that they will do whatever it takes to finish one place above their closest rival. nearby. And since Arsenal were defeated yesterday, they will know that today offers them the opportunity to emphasize that harsh reality.
Wolves, however, have the tools to trouble them, particularly in midfield, where their momentum and physicality can make things uncomfortable for any team, let alone one that is still trying to get by without the best midfielder in the game. world. If they can start quickly and defend properly, this could be an intense and competitive contest; If they can't, they will have even more problems than the classification suggests.
Start: 2pm BST
