Manchester United will be looking to record their best-ever away run against Wolverhampton Wanderers when they travel to Molineux for their Premier League clash on New Year's Eve.
Following a near six-week break for the 2022 World Cup, the Red Devils have made a strong start on home soil since the restart, with a 2-0 EFL Cup victory over Burnley followed by a 3-0 league win against Nottingham Forest on Tuesday.
Erik ten Hag's men, who currently sit fifth in the Premier League table, are now preparing for a trip to the Midlands where they will do battle with relegation-threatened Wolves, who are placed inside the bottom three.
Man United picked up maximum points in their most recent Premier League away game, beating Fulham 2-1 at Craven Cottage on November 13 courtesy of a 93rd-minute winner from starlet Alejandro Garnacho.
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The Red Devils will be confident of success against Wolves on Saturday as they are unbeaten in each of their last four visits to Molineux across all competitions, including back-to-back Premier League victories in their two most recent trips.
Under the tutelage of former boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, goals from Anthony Elanga and Juan Mata helped United secure a 2-1 away win over Wolves in May 2021, before the Red Devils secured a slender 1-0 victory at the same stadium three months later.
Should United come away with all three points on Saturday, they will record three successive Premier League victories at Molineux for the very first time.
United also boast an impressive record towards the end of a calendar year, as they have not lost their final league match in any of the last 10 calendar years since suffering a 3-2 defeat against Blackburn Rovers in 2011.
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Despite this, Ten Hag will be wary of the challenges that his side could face when taking on Wolves, after losing their most recent meeting 1-0 at Old Trafford in January.
Speaking after United's win over Nottingham Forest, the Dutchman urged his team to be more "ruthless" in front of goal, telling manutd.com: "We have to score more goals. I think we created so many chances, it takes us until just before the end to make the third goal. I think we have to finish the game in earlier moments.
"I think just after half time, we created two really good chances and we have to finish the game. Many games are to come, you can then save more energy, which is better for everyone, but also for the progress of the team, you need that.
"I think our players can score, you can see that, [Anthony] Martial is a goalscorer, [Marcus] Rashford is a goalscorer, Bruno Fernandes scores goals, so we have a lot of players who can score goals but we have to be ruthless."
United will momentarily climb into the top four if they claim maximum points against Wolves, before fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur face Aston Villa on New Year's Day.
Oliver Thomas
