Having seen their seven-game unbeaten run come to an abrupt end in midweek, Manchester City welcome Wolverhampton Wanderers to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday in the Premier League.
Pep Guardiola's men went down 2-1 to RB Leipzig in midweek, while the visitors were undone by a late Liverpool winner at Molineux last weekend.
Match preview
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Man City's status as Champions League Group A winners was already confirmed before they travelled to RB Leipzig for an inconsequential clash on the final matchday, with the German side benefitting from that new manager bounce following Jesse Marsch's dismissal.
The Bundesliga outfit under the tutelage of Achim Beierlorzer ended City's seven-game winning run in all competitions thanks to strikes from Dominik Szoboszlai and Andre Silva, with Riyad Mahrez's header not enough to threaten a late comeback.
However, City's 3-1 victory over Watford - thanks in no small part to an astounding Bernardo Silva performance - saw them take advantage of Chelsea's defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers and reclaim top spot in the Premier League table - one point clear of second-placed Liverpool.
The reigning English champions have now prevailed five times in a row in the top flight - scoring at least two goals in each game - and even at this stage of the season, their title destiny is already in their own hands ahead of a hectic winter period.
Guardiola's side have been far from perfect on their own patch this term, but they welcome Wolves to the Etihad on a four-game winning streak on home soil and in no mood to let their midweek defeat sour their fortunes domestically.
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Wolves became the latest victims of a last-minute Divock Origi winner last weekend, but Bruno Lage must have thought his luck was in when Diogo Jota somehow blasted the ball at Conor Coady when he otherwise had the whole of the goal to aim at.
However, Origi came off the bench to smash home Liverpool's winner in the fourth minute of second-half injury time, which represented Wolves' third game without a win or a goal in the Premier League as their European dream took yet another hit.
Having now overseen a bitter downturn in fortunes with just one win from their last five in the top flight, Lage has work to do to pull his side back into top-six contention as they sit eighth in the standings - two points behind seventh-placed Arsenal and three behind Manchester United.
A paltry tally of just one goal from their last five games highlights where the problems lie for this Wolves side - who have not had many problems shutting up shop in defence - although only one of their last six away games has ended in defeat.
Man City comfortably saw off Wolves 4-1 at the Etihad last term after claiming a 3-1 win at Molineux a few months before, and this week's visitors to Manchester have lost six of their last nine visits to the Citizens' headquarters.
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Team News
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Man City lost both Nathan Ake and Phil Foden to injury in the defeat to Leipzig, although both players are not thought to have sustained anything serious.
The same can be said for Aymeric Laporte and Gabriel Jesus - both nursing knocks - but Ferran Torres continues his spell on the sidelines amid persistent links with a move to Barcelona.
The likes of Ederson, Ruben Dias and Raheem Sterling could all return to the first XI this week, with Guardiola's hand largely forced in the final third once again.
Meanwhile, Wolves remain without long-term absentees Willy Boly, Yerson Mosquera, Jonny and Pedro Neto, and Lage was also handed concerns with Rayan Ait-Nouri and Conor Coady following the Liverpool defeat.
It remains to be seen if Coady and Ait-Nouri will be passed fit for the weekend, but if not, Lage could be in a predicament at left-back as Fernando Marcal attempts to recover from COVID-19.
Hugo Bueno could therefore be set for a baptism of fire on the left-hand side, but Lage will otherwise see no need to alter the XI which so nearly took a point from the Liverpool clash.
Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Ederson; Walker, Dias, Stones, Cancelo; Gundogan, Rodri, De Bruyne; Silva, Sterling, Grealish
Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Sa; Kilman, Coady, Saiss; Semedo, Neves, Dendoncker, Ait-Nouri; Traore, Jimenez, Hwang
We say: Manchester City 2-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Scoring goals has been a major issue for this Wolves team in recent weeks, but they will hope to see their new-found defensive solidity come to the fore against a City side dealing with a number of attacking absentees.
However, many of Guardiola's big-hitters are well-rested and need no added incentive to get the job done and hold their position at the top, so we expect a professional performance and victory for the home side.
Top tip
Ben Knapton
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Manchester City win with a probability of 80.11%. A draw had a probability of 13.5% and a win for Wolverhampton Wanderers had a probability of 6.4%.
The most likely scoreline for a Manchester City win was 2-0 with a probability of 13.84%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 3-0 (11.94%) and 1-0 (10.69%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (6.4%), while for a Wolverhampton Wanderers win it was 0-1 (2.47%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 10.7% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Manchester City would win this match.
