MY ACCOUNT
– Man City have won eight of 10 Premier League fixtures at the Etihad, losing just once
– Wolves have won just one away game in the Premier League this season
– Riyad Mahrez has scored five goals in his last four games
– Recommended bets:
– City to win and over 2.5 goals
– Mahrez to score first
Manchester City kept themselves in the Premier League title picture with a pulsating 4-2 comeback win over Tottenham on Thursday night but the team was berated by manager Pep Guardiola, who will be looking for an improved performance against Wolves.
City trailed Spurs 2-0 at half-time in midweek with Guardiola insisting his players were lacking fire, having previously ruled his side out of the title race.
Opponents Wolves have their own problems with relegation a real danger despite new manager Julen Lopetegui having overseen two league wins since taking charge.
Team news
Rico Lewis is a doubt for Manchester City after picking up a knock against Tottenham.
Kevin De Bruyne, Joao Cancelo, Phil Foden and Ruben Dias all started on the bench against Spurs and could come into the starting line-up for this contest.
Visitors Wolves will be without Chiquinho, Pedro Neto, Sasa Kalajdzic and Boubacar Traore, who are all sidelined, but new signing Pablo Sarabia could be involved.
The stats
Despite Guardiola’s concerns, City are going well in the Premier League this season with 13 wins from 19 matches.
That said, they have not been particularly tight at the back and have recorded only two clean sheets in their eight competitive matches since returning from the World Cup break.
Wolves have struggled defensively this season and have kept only one clean sheet in nine away games in the Premier League.
One player to keep an eye on going forwards is City’s Riyad Mahrez, who has scored five goals since the start of 2023.
Prediction
For many, Guardiola’s post-match comments following City’s comeback win over Tottenham could be construed as mind games, although it is clear the Citizens are not clicking in the way they did in the early stages of the season.
They were not exactly barnstorming in their 1-0 win over Chelsea in the Premier League at the start of the year, while they have already sustained defeats on the road to Southampton in the EFL Cup and Manchester United in the Premier League this month.
For any other team, it would not be particularly surprising and would be considered an expected dip in form.
However, Guardiola has set exceptionally high standards at City and it is fair to say they have not been gelling in the same way as runaway Premier League leaders Arsenal with fears over a deeper malaise in his squad.
But great teams get results even when not everything is going well and that is exactly what City did on Thursday night, which could act as a catalyst for a turnaround in performances.
City will also have added motivation going into this game with Wolves, knowing at least one of Arsenal or Manchester United will drop points this weekend when they clash at the Emirates Stadium.
City’s players will be well aware the spotlight is on them following Guardiola’s comments and this is the kind of game in which they could rack up the goals.
Even with the team having not been at its sharpest, City have managed to score at least three times in four of their eight matches since the hiatus and a bet on Manchester City to win and over 2.5 goals could represent value at 3/5 with LiveScore Bet.
One player Guardiola did give praise to in the aftermath of the Tottenham victory was winger Mahrez, who has sparked into life since the turn of the year, scoring a brace in that game and three goals in two games against Chelsea at the start of the month.
