MY ACCOUNT
Manchester City have the upper hand in the Premier League title race and it would be a surprise if they slipped up at Wolves on Wednesday.
Judging by the way they dismantled Newcastle 5-0 at the weekend, Pep Guardiola’s side have already got their Champions League semi-final heartbreak out of their system and look set for a comfortable evening at Molineux.
City know dropped points at this stage would hand Liverpool the initiative and they should be far too good for a Wolves side sitting eighth in the table — a huge 36 points behind the defending champions.
Team news
City go to Molineux with a defensive injury crisis after Ruben Dias, John Stones and Kyle Walker were ruled out for the final three games.
That leaves Aymeric Laporte as their only fully-fit centre-back with Nathan Ake also carrying a knock.
Riyad Mahrez and Bernardo Silva were both named on the bench against Newcastle and are pushing for recalls.
Wolves are without Daniel Podence, Max Kilman and Nelson Semedo but Chiquinho impressed off the bench against Chelsea and may be handed a start, as could Francisco Trincao.
The stats
City’s only defeats of late have come in the cups, losing 3-2 to Liverpool in the FA Cup semi-finals and 3-1 at Real Madrid in the decisive leg of their Champions League tie.
In the Premier League, Guardiola’s side are on a four-game winning streak with a combined aggregate score of 17-1.
They have netted a league-leading 89 goals so far this term and will approach the trip to the Midlands full of confidence.
Wolves battled back gamely to secure a late 2-2 draw at Chelsea last Saturday to keep their faint hopes of finishing in the European places alive.
But Bruno Lage’s side are without a win in the league since beating Aston Villa at the start of April, losing three straight games to nil before securing that point at Stamford Bridge.
Wolves did frustrate City for large parts in the reverse fixture at the Etihad, when a second-half Raheem Sterling penalty was enough to edge the hosts to victory, and they memorably did the double over Guardiola’s side in 2019-20, winning 2-0 at home and 3-2 away.
But the Citizens have won the last three league meetings between the two clubs.
Predictions
This represents somewhat of a tricky test for City.
But after what could be a tentative start, they should assert their influence and come away with a comfortable win.
Wolves will likely deploy a defensive game plan before attempting to hit the visitors on the break. However, goals remain a problem for Lage’s men.
They have scored just four times in their last five matches and only struggling Burnley, Norwich and Watford have hit fewer than the Black Country side’s paltry total of 35 across the league campaign.
Expect City, with their range of attacking weapons, to get the job done.
The likes of Mahrez, Kevin De Bruyne and Gabriel Jesus are among the candidates who look most likely to be among the goals.
