Having now assured themselves of a place in the Premier League for the 2023-24 season, Wolverhampton Wanderers return to the road to meet Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon.
Julen Lopetegui's side confirmed their safety with a 1-0 win over West Midlands rivals Aston Villa last weekend, while the Red Devils were beaten at West Ham United by the same scoreline.
Match preview
© Reuters
For the fourth time in all competitions this season, a David de Gea error directly led to a goal against Man United, who fell to their second successive 1-0 loss at the London Stadium following Brighton & Hove Albion's successful revenge mission a few days before.
With 27 minutes on the clock, Said Benrahma's relatively tame effort was seemingly meat and drink for De Gea, but rather than turning the ball behind for a corner, the Algerian's strike brushed off the palm of the Man United number one into the back of the net.
Erik ten Hag's misfiring attack was stunted for the remainder of the game as the Red Devils offered Liverpool another slice of hope in the race for Champions League football, although they possess a one-point lead over their Merseyside rivals with a game in hand and are also just two points worse off than Newcastle United.
As Manchester City and Arsenal ride off into the sunset, a third-placed finish and FA Cup glory is now the best that Man United can fight for in the final few weeks of the season, but just two wins from their last six in all tournaments is hardly an encouraging record.
However, what is extremely encouraging is a stellar 27-game unbeaten streak at Old Trafford in all tournaments since Real Sociedad's 1-0 Europa League success in September, and Ten Hag's men have kept five successive Premier League clean sheets on home soil, shipping a league-low eight goals at the Theatre of Dreams all season.
© Reuters
Despite boasting such esteemed names as Spain, Real Madrid and Sevilla on his CV - winning the Europa League with the latter - Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui hailed Premier League survival as his most important achievement in football following last weekend's derby success.
A ninth-minute Toti header did the damage for Wolves against Aston Villa, whose subsequent efforts to break down the staunch Lopetegui backline proved futile, as Wolves hit the coveted 40-point mark and guaranteed a spot in the big time for 2023-24 in the process.
Ten points clear of the trapdoor with just three games remaining, 13th-placed Wolves will no doubt be breathing a sigh of relief having confirmed survival prior to trips to Old Trafford and the Emirates, but they have not had their away form to thank for their Premier League status.
While a 1-0 win over Villa made it four triumphs and four clean sheets on the bounce at Molineux, Lopetegui's men have won just twice on the road all season, going winless in each of their last six and memorably being torn apart 6-0 by Brighton & Hove Albion during their most recent road battle.
Wolves made Man United's start to 2022 a miserable one with a 1-0 victory at Old Trafford last January, but the Red Devils responded by ruining the West Midlands side's New Year's Eve celebrations, prevailing 1-0 at Molineux last December, and another low-scoring affair is certainly not beyond the realm of possibility.
Team News
© Reuters
Barring Alejandro Garnacho's recent return from an ankle injury - the Argentine attacker was an unused substitute in the defeat to West Ham - there had been little movement in the Man United infirmary last week, but Marcus Rashford has now emerged as a "big doubt" due to a leg injury.
Lisandro Martinez (foot), Phil Jones (knee), Tom Heaton (ankle), Donny van de Beek (knee) and Scott McTominay (knock) are no closer to making their comebacks, but Raphael Varane has made a rapid recovery from a foot problem and could be involved.
With Rashford unlikely to be involved, Ten Hag may consider a recall for Garnacho or Jadon Sancho to a wide position, as profligate duo Anthony Martial and Wout Weghorst battle it out to start at the tip of the attack.
As for Wolves, Lopetegui will also expect to be working with the same crop of players from the win over Villa, as Boubacar Traore continues to build up his match fitness while Chiquinho and Sasa Kalajdzic continue to rehabilitate from long-term knee issues.
Toti has surely warranted another start at left-back ahead of Rayan Ait-Nouri and Hugo Bueno - who was left out of the squad last time out - while Raul Jimenez remains out of favour too and is fighting to get back into Lopetegui's good books.
While Lopetegui may be tempted to give run-outs to fringe players with survival now confirmed, the visiting boss should stick with a tried-and-tested formula for such a daunting fixture this weekend, where Diego Costa will come face-to-face with the Red Devils' depleted backline.
Manchester United possible starting lineup:
De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Lindelof, Shaw; Casemiro, Eriksen; Antony, Fernandes, Sancho; Martial
Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Sa; Semedo, Dawson, Kilman, Toti; Neto, Neves, Lemina, Nunes; Costa, Cunha
We say: Manchester United 1-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Man United have frequently dabbled in one-goal victories at Old Trafford this season, and however many goals the Red Devils concede on the road, they have often been near-impenetrable in front of their own fans.
A drop-off in performance from Wolves can be expected with nothing but pride on the line, but the misfiring hosts may once again be restricted to just the one goal, albeit one that will keep them in control of their Champions League destiny.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Ben Knapton
