Wolves vs Manchester City Prediction: Citizens set for more opening day delight

Wolverhampton Wanderers host Manchester City at Molineux on Saturday (17:30 BST, Sky Sports Main Event) for their opening Premier League fixture. Vitor Pereira guided the Old Gold to safety last term and will be looking to build on that this year.

City went the 2024/25 campaign without silverware and Pep Guardiola will be looking to put that right in this campaign. Below you will find my Wolves vs Man City predictions, aided by the latest team news and match odds.

Team News

Matheus Cunha has left Wolves over the summer and the club have made several signings to try and improve their squad. Jhon Arias is one of the more exciting additions, and he could be set to make his debut on the wing after joining from Fluminense.

Jorgan Strand Larsen will lead the line for the Old Gold and he will look to build on last season's haul of 14 goals in the top flight - but given his performances he may attract interest in the final weeks of the transfer window.

Joao Gomes and Andre should man the engine room, with both players being two key assets for Pereira's side.

Wolves are missing Leon Chiwome, Yerson Mosquera (both knee) and Fabio Silva (thigh) due to injury - although the latter is likely to depart Molineux before the end of the window.

Premier League Odds

Man City signed Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolves in the summer and the left-back is set to feature at his old stomping ground on Saturday. Another former Wolves star, Matheus Nunes, is also primed to feature.

Mateo Kovacic and Kalvin Phillips remain sidelined after undergoing Achilles surgery earlier this summer, while Ballon d’Or winner Rodri is unlikely to feature as he continues to recover from a problem sustained at the Fifa Club World Cup.

Phil Foden, Josko Gvardiol and Claudio Echeverri all missed last weekend’s win over Palermo due to fitness issues, and Foden has been dealing a knock to his ankle. All three will be assessed ahead of the weekend.

Erling Haaland looks to lead the line for the visitors, while Omar Marmoush will also be looking to start.

Wolves vs Man City Odds

Wolves have won three of their last five home games in the Premier League and they are 13/2 to stun City on Saturday.

Their final match of the previous campaign ended in a stalemate against Brentford, and the draw is marketed at 18/5.

Man City are the 2/5 favourites to win this game, and they have won each of their past three opening day fixtures in the top flight. All of them included a clean sheet and they are 7/5 (which has an implied probability of 41.7%) to collect the three points.

BTTS - No is is priced at 1/1 and Man City to keep a clean sheet is 23/20.

Man City to win to nil @ 7/5

As I touched on earlier, City have had a very strong record in recent seasons when it comes to the first game in the Premier League. After last season's struggles and lack of success, Guardiola and his players will be hungry to get back to the top of English football.

They will be determined to get off to a positive start because now, perhaps more than ever, they have more teams to be concerned about in terms of the title race. For the last few years when they won it, Arsenal were their only real threat, while now they have defending champions Liverpool and Chelsea to worry about.

Wolves may feel the home advantage can help them out but the truth is their squad still has a way to go for them to have a chance of besting this City team that has been revitalised with new signings.

I predict a routine away win for the visitors.

Erling Haaland first goalscorer @ 11/4

For the first time in his three years in the Premier League, Haaland did not win the Golden Boot in 2024/25. City may have had an off year, but the Norwegian striker was still playing his part, hitting 22 goals across the campaign in the top flight.

Many are backing him to get back to the top of the scoring tree this term and I think he can get off to a fast start on opening day. I think there's value to be had in backing him to open the scoring because he has done so in every opening Premier League match for City.

It's a trend worth backing to continue, in my opinion, especially against an opponent he has found the net on eight occasions in just five appearances.

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