Premier League: Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Manchester United - Preview, prediction, and team news

The Red Devils are currently fifth in the table, one point behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur, and have one game less than the capital club, while the Wolves are 18th with 13 points from 16 games in the 2022-23 season.

Julen Lopetegui's tenure as Wolves head coach has gotten off to a good start. The Spaniard has won two games, including a 2-0 victory over Gillingham in the EFL Cup on December 20

In the Premier League on Boxing Day, Wolves defeated Everton 2-1 after falling behind at Goodison Park. Before Rayan Ait-Nouri scored in the 95th minute, Daniel Podence had restored parity in the 22nd minute after Yerry Mina had given the Toffees the lead.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">➕3️⃣👊🏽🔴 We move up!!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MUFC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MUFC</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MUNNFO?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MUNNFO</a> <a href="https://t.co/KUGTDpe3F2">pic.twitter.com/KUGTDpe3F2</a></p>&mdash; Casemiro (@Casemiro) <a href="https://twitter.com/Casemiro/status/1607873430531047425?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 27, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The result moved the 2017-18 Championship winners to 18th on the table, just one point behind 17th-placed Everton. The arrival of Lopetegui as a head coach gives the team an advantage, with the 56-year-old having managed the likes of Spain and Real Madrid in his career.

Wolves have a busy start to January as they face Aston Villa in the Premier League on January 4 before taking on Liverpool in the FA Cup and Nottingham Forest in the EFL Cup.

There is no denying that the first half of the season has been difficult for the club, but a win against Everton would have been a massive boost to confidence at a crucial stage of the season.

Wolves also won the last match with Man United in January, when they prevailed 1-0 at Old Trafford thanks to a Joao Moutinho goal (82nd minute).

Man United go into this game with Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Fred on the scoresheet after their 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Tuesday night.

The Red Devils returned to the EFL Cup after the World Cup on December 21 with a 2-0 win over Burnley. A commanding performance against Forest moved them to within a point of fourth-placed Spurs in the table, and they have played one more game than Antonio Conte's side.

Erik ten Hag's side have now won nine of their 15 league games, drawn two and lost four, picking up 29 points in the process.

After this match, Manchester United will play four straight home matches against Bournemouth, Manchester City, Everton, and Charlton Athletic in the Premier League and FA Cup, respectively.

The Red Devils have the fifth-best away record in the Premier League this season with 13 points from eight games but have conceded 16 times on their travels in 2022-23.

Wolves are still the lowest-scoring team in the league despite scoring twice against Everton, but Lopetegui is confident he can show the undoubted attacking talent at Molineux.

Team News

Wolves will again be missing Chiquinho, Pedro Neto and Sasa Kalajdzic due to injury, but Boubacar Toure and Jonny Castro are expected to be back in the squad.

Daniel Podence is also available again for the hosts, although he was out against Everton with a leg problem.

Ait-Nouri and Matheus Nunes are also in contention for a place in the first-team XI, but Diego Costa is again expected to replace Raul Jimenez in central defence, while Hwang Hee-chan will play on the right for Lopetegui.

Man United are missing Victor Lindelof and Scott McTominay, who were absent against Forest due to illness, and Diogo Dalot (hamstring) and Jadon Sancho (fitness) could also be out again.

Lisandro Martinez has been training with the Red Devils again since Wednesday after his exertions at the World Cup. It would not be surprising to see him start alongside Raphael Varane in central defence.

Luke Shaw played as a centre-back against Forest but is likely to move to the left side of defence here, while Bruno Fernandes, Casemiro and Christian Eriksen are likely to play in midfield.

No changes are expected in attack either, with Antony continuing to play alongside Rashford and Martial, who both got on the scoresheet against Forest.

Prediction 

Manchester United 2-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers

• In his first Premier League game under Lopetegui, the Wolves got a late win at Everton. After two wins from two games, he will be eager to record a third straight victory against Manchester United.
• United bounced back in the league with a 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest on Tuesday night. They have won their last two guest games at Molineux.