Key events
Matt Burtz emails: “There are some who don’t believe in xG, and that’s fine. For those who do, Wolves’ xG per 90 minutes is -0.44. Not great, but it’s only the fourth worst in the Premier League. (Interestingly enough, it’s ahead of Sunderland’s -0.52.) But the main stat for Wolves is an xG against of 18.9, which is seventh in the PL (and better than that of third place Aston Villa). This means they’ve been incredibly unlucky in keeping goals out. Clearly they need to score more goals as one every two games isn’t going to cut it at any level, but if their luck balances out defensively there is a theoretical chance of them putting some results together.”
It’s a nice theory.
It is the festive season, which means I am now sat next to a Christmas tree with flashing lights.
There are plans for a fan protest by Wolves supporters at Molineux tonight. Those attending are urged to stay outside for the first 15 minutes to show their anger against Fosun and its ownership of the club.
Cunha’s return is a reminder of what Wolves once had, when they were quite good in the market. Now they are a club that sells their best players and replaces them with people not up to the job.
Dave Easterby writes: “Two points from 14 games and a goal difference of -22 would suggest Amorim’s men have got Wolves covered tonight. Couple of goals, three points, top six, luvvly jubbly.
“But it’s Monday and it’s Man Utd so this has probably got disaster written all over it.
“That poor lad’s NEVER getting his hair cut …”
Matheus Cunha returns to Molineux.
Rob Edwards: “We knew it was going to be tough. Nothing has surprised me. We’ve had three games, we’ve had the good, the in between and no so good. We want to try and find consistency, and be better at both ends of the pitch.
“There’s realism in the conversations we have. We still want to try and be positive but we all know the situation we are in. We have to act quickly.
“We’ve created good chances and had good moments. We want the lads to take risk and arrive in good numbers in those areas. Last time out we did not take risks.”
Pre-match reading.
Starting lineups
Wolves: Johnstone, Hoever, Mosquera, Agbadou, Toti, Wolfe, Andre, Krejci, Bellegarde, Arias, Starand Larsen.
Subs: Sa, H. Bueno, S. Bueno, Hwang, Arokodare, Chirewa, Lopez, Mane, Tchatchoua.
Man United: Lammens, Mazraoui, Heaven, Shaw, Amad, Casemiro, Fernandes, Dalot, Mbeumo, Cunha, Mount.
Subs: Bayindir, Dorgu, Malacia, Martinez, Yoro, Mainoo, Ugarte, Lacey, Zirkzee.
Preamble
Manchester United and Ruben Amorim crave consistency, even more than that poor lad desperate for a haircut. After winning three games in a row in October, they have won once in their past five Premier League matches. The performance against West Ham on Thursday clearly irritated Amorim and he will be wanting a reaction at Molineux.
Thankfully for the visitors, Wolves are pretty awful. They are propping up the table with a miserable two points from 14 matches. Relegation looks a certainty for Rob Edwards and his new side. It is getting to the stage where the pressure is almost off because they do not give off the impression that they will be able to overhaul the three clubs above them even at this relatively early stage.
Let’s hope it is competitive at least.
Kick-off: 8pm GMT
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