Manchester United travel to face Wolverhampton Wanderers with both sides hoping to climb up the 2024/25 Premier League table
The Premier League season enters its crucial moments, with lots of points on offer during the festive period, hence Man Utd and Wolves will be looking to hit a run of form.
Both sides have desperately underperformed in their respective seasons, with Wolves scraping it in the relegation zone while the Red Devils are also in the bottom half of the league table.
They played out a seven-goal thriller that ended with Kobbie Mainoo’s last-gasp winner for a 4-3 victory in this corresponding fixture last season.
That win made it eight games unbeaten for United in their last nine meetings against the West Midlands outfit and they will be hoping for more of the same.
The Old Gold have been poor all season, with only one point from their first three matches as they lost five consecutive games before earning a point again. Wolves battled to draws in successive matches against Brighton and Crystal Palace which led to their first win.
Pablo Sarabia and Matheus Cunha scored in a victory over Southampton and fans are now expecting Wolves to build on that maiden win and move up the table.
Gary O’Neil’s men will play Fulham, Bournemouth, Everton, West Ham, Ipswich Town and Leicester City before facing the Mancunians during a busy period until Christmas Day. They will hope to have built a solid run of results and points gathered during that period could make or break their season.
Steady improvement is needed in order to save themselves from a relegation dogfight in the second half of the season. Consistency of performances are a must and any positive result against United will do wonders for their confidence amidst a hectic period.
Man United, on the other hand, have also had a disastrous start to the campaign having finished eighth for their lowest-ever Premier League finish last term. The triumph over City in the FA Cup final at Wembley papered over some cracks as Ten Hag’s contract was extended with significant recruitment backing from the new minority owners.
Meanwhile, only four wins into their first 11 games of the season prompted the Dutch manager’s sacking, before he was replaced by former Sporting CP boss, Ruben Amorim. The 20-time English champions steadied the ship with Ruud van Nistelrooy leading them to three wins and a draw in his four games in charge as interim manager.
Having signed off with a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Leicester, Amorim is tasked with taking them a step further by instilling a playing identity.
United have it all to do to rise up the league standings, and although they are currently in 13th place as Amorim takes over, they are only four points behind fourth-placed Arsenal.
They must seize the flurry of games as an opportunity to build a run of results that can see them improve their league position.
Of course, the aim will be to push for the top four places by the second half of the season and performances will be crucial to breeding that belief. Wolves certainly present a tough challenge away from home, but the Red Devils will be hoping the effects of their new manager bounce will see them through here.
Match tickets
This Premier League Matchday 18 fixture takes place on Thursday, 15 December 2024 with kick-off scheduled for 5:30 PM UK time, it promises to be a spectacular occasion with top-quality football on show. Match tickets are available for sale on the website of each club, with priority access given to club members and season ticket holders.
The Molineux Stadium is the place to be on matchday and just over 31,000 people are expected to fill the stands when Man United come to town. Wolves have earned some big scalps on their home ground, and they will be looking to steal a big result here.
The away fans will be keen to support their side on the day but they may find match tickets hard to come by. Hence, we urge them to purchase their Wolves vs Manchester United tickets on a resale site where regular match-goers can also cop Wolves tickets throughout this season.
Team news
Santiago Bueno and Craig Dawson may be doubts for this fixture, but the likes of Boubacar Traore, Yerson Mosquera and Enso Gonzalez are definitely ruled out with long-term injuries.
Meanwhile, Hee-Chan Hwang could be back in time for this game.
Amorim would have an almost full-strength squad to work with on arrival at Old Trafford as Harry Maguire, Kobbie Mainoo, Luke Shaw, Leny Yoro and Tyrell Malacia are closing in on their respective returns from injury.
Line-ups
Wolves tend to play with a compact back-three system that involves flying wing-backs and fluid forwards who will look to hurt United’s backline.
There is intense competition for places in midfield with Mario Lemina, Joao Gomes, Andre and Tommy Doyle all vying for minutes. Yet the frontline is more defined with Cunha and Jorgen Strand Larsen likely to be joined by Hee-chan or Sarabia.
Wolves: Sa; Bueno, Dawson, Toti; Semedo, Gomes, Lemina, Ait-Nouri; Cunha, Hee-chan, Larsen
Amorim is likely to line up in his preferred 3-4-3 shape which would match Wolves’ formation, making for an interesting tactical battle.
Casemiro and Manuel Ugarte will have a huge role in central midfield as they aim to stop the hosts from building quick transitions.
Manchester United: Onana; Maguire, De Ligt, Martinez; Mazraoui, Casemiro, Ugarte, Dalot; Fernandes, Rashford, Hojlund
Prediction
Most of their recent encounters were decided by a one-goal margin, and another tight affair could be on the cards at the Molineux. As poor as both teams have been this season, United are still nine points ahead of Wolves and that gulf in class could yet play out.
Either team could win this, but United boast more quality to see out the maximum points here.
Wolves 1-2 Man United