Man City

Too many mistakes.

Sa’s gaffe was the headline, but all the goals were preventable.

Ruben gave the ball away and then needlessly fouled Gundogan for the second. Even Haaland’s well-worked opener could have been cut off had Nunes not been sucked towards the ball allowing De Bruyne a free cross.

Small details but you can’t afford to get them wrong.

City probably would have continued creating chances for as long as they needed to, but this became too easy for my liking.

Wolves defended well up until the first goal and prevented it from becoming a rout after the game was gone, but there isn’t much else for Loptegui to take from the wreckage, other than the fact we don’t have to play City again this season.

Even as we broke forward in the second half and occupied promising positions the inability to test Ederson made for painful viewing.

Sarabia looked confident and direct, which is exactly what we need, but skied one opportunity and saw another blocked by Ake (possibly with his arm).

We really need the Spaniard to bring his Sporting Lisbon numbers to this team because 12 goals in 20 games is still the statistic keeping me up at night.

I just wonder what is being done on the training pitch to address this crippling deficiency? City had clear patterns of play in the final third and were rewarded for that with the opening goal.

In contrast, Wolves just pass and pass and pass, hoping the solution will become obvious and it never does.

Even from set pieces, the desire to put the ball into good areas and attack with aggression isn’t there. Collins and Kilman don’t look like they’d connect with anything if they played for a decade.

I would put Dawson straight in for his heading ability in both boxes alone, but I also believe we’re overplaying in defence and inviting the press. An experienced player will know better when to play and when to simply defend.

With this game out of the way and many of the teams around us dropping points in winnable fixtures, things could be worse.

But we can rightly expect better than this when we emerge for that Liverpool game in a fortnight.

Every time we’ve won a Premier League game this season, we’ve followed up with a defeat.

That’s something Wolves need to address, but it’ll be tough to break that trend on Sunday, especially if the cup exit is anything to go by.

The Liverpool game showed that however many strikers we throw at the problem, scoring remains the issue.

On the plus side, this team still tend to do all their damage on the counterattack and there will be plenty of opportunities to do that in this game.

Any result other than a defeat would be significant.

Man City

I watched City’s comeback win over Spurs last night and was impressed with how they managed that game after conceding the first two goals.

It wasn’t a typical Pep performance (which probably explains his bizarre post-match demeanour) but they bulldozed their way through repeatedly to get the job done.

Foden, De Bruyne and Cancelo all sat on the bench with their feet up while Dias, Walker and Silva only had token minutes right at the end. That’s what you call squad depth and it gives Pep no shortage of options for Sunday.

They lost to Brentford and drew with Everton in fairly recent times, which should at least give us hope of causing a similar upset.

But 35 goals scored at home already (50 overall) is a scary prospect, particularly with Haaland back among them after a two game ‘drought’.

Wolves

Subject to injury there are plenty of options for Lopetegui to choose right across the pitch, but this is what I’d expect to see.

Pablo Sarabia hasn’t come to sit on the bench, but hasn’t had a huge amount of minutes so it would be a bold move to throw him straight in at the Etihad. His output suggests he could be a problem solver in the weeks ahead.

This is definitely the type of game Mario Lemina was drafted in to play so I’ll be surprised if he’s not in the starting XI.

Moutinho, Ait-Nouri, Jonny, Toti, Traore, Raul and Costa are other realistic options depending on the shape and tactics the coach wants to deploy.

Predictions

Well done to Ben Rasmin, Rich, Woodend wolf, Matt Cook, Mike Jones and Wishfart who all correctly predicted the 1-0 scoreline against West Ham.

Rich extends his lead at the top of the overall table to 5 points at the end of Gameweek 19.

As always, if you’d like to join in with the Prediction League this season, it’s simple – just leave your prediction in the comment section below using the boxes provided. Then repeat for every preview article throughout the season, making sure you always use the same email address to make your prediction. Your email is what ties you to your overall score.

You can read my prediction for the game in the comment section below.

Up The Wolves!

Since April 3, Wolves have scored four Premier League goals at Molineux, compared to Manchester City’s eight.

In other words, as soon as Jack Grealish bundled in the opener before we’d finished contemplating Queen Elizabeth II’s reign, the game was done and dusted.

Thoughts now turn to King Charles III’s tenure, and how many weeks into it before we see another goal again. With this front-three in particular, I wouldn’t bet against it being Christmas.

Ok, so Nathan Collins will rightly receive the wrath of many for a braindead challenge on the City player we like to hate most, but in truth we’d been playing with 10 men up until that point anyway, as the hopeless Pedro Neto was being carried for another week, as he keeps up his woeful impersonation of his former self.

Unfashionable as it is to say this no doubt, but if Adama Traore was pulling the stunts – or lack of – that Neto has all season, he’d have been hounded out the starting XI by the baying masses long before now. Alongside Neto, Podence still does nothing to disprove that he’s a quirky, novelty player, while Guedes looks like the pair of them put together…

…All fur coat and no knickers.

Opting for one luxury player against arguably the best team in the western world right now is asking for trouble, but three across the front line is only going to end one way, as it has every game bar Leeds, Newcastle and Southampton…

…Goalless, clueless and quite honestly, hopeless.

And more proof, were it needed, that without Man City’s 2019 tormentor in the team we look infinitely less likely to score than we do when he’s out injured, as he was today in a big blow before kick off.

While many fans are claiming this squad to be the most talented in their lifetime (with a fair degree of validity), I’d wager that it’s also the most toothless side that I’ve seen in the final third, give or take those Le Fondre days of woe. So whilst defeats like this one against Man City are never going to define our season, the shocking ‘goals for’ column is, as is a meagre 6 points from 7 games and a potential drop to the Premier League relegation zone by the time those below have played their game in hand.

The two claims must be mutually exclusive, as it’s inconceivable that this vaunted squad we’re all so quick to laud can be so pathetic when approaching an opposition penalty box? Even in the dying embers of this fixture with the game done and dusted, we refused to load any players in the box. I.E We were (in)actively looking not to score, which can only be an instruction from the coach.

A churlish definition? Perhaps, but players are literally refusing to shoot at goal or even make a run into the box to receive the ball to shoot in the first place. It is beyond maddening now and one paltry shot today was another damning indictment, irrespective of the opposition or the fact we had a man less for an hour when playing them.

That we kept the score down to three with 10 men was a minor moral victory to cling on to, while Boubacar Traore gave a promising cameo off the bench late on.

Yet despite the glaringly obvious, we did play some good stuff in spells, as typified in the 15mins between City’s two goals, while some of the play after we went a man down was pleasant enough, albeit lacking in any sort of cutting edge that would get you off your seat. Only Her Majesty did that in the 70^th minute, in a doubly sobering moment.

But before I join the growing cat-calls towards Bruno, I’ll keep my powder dry for now as I sense (without any evidence, granted!) that he is aware of our side’s glaring deficiency and needs longer to put it right.

Signing Boubacar Traore and Diego Costa would suggest this to be the case, with the former here to drive us up the pitch and the latter given the diktat to cause mayhem in the box.

Firing blanks thereafter will be a sackable offence though, irrespective of who we’re up against.

Sometimes it takes a big result to get the season going properly.

The last three rickety performances have produced five points and that valuable first victory, which wasn’t a bad return given the ‘could have won, could have lost’ nature of those games.

But anything less than perfection tomorrow will result in certain defeat, so the challenge is there for the players to raise their game accordingly.

They did reasonably well against Tottenham in the only other match against the ‘Big Six’ so far, so there’s no reason we can’t give them a run for their money.

The memory of last season’s walloping and the spectre of Haaland loom large but hopefully Wolves rise to the occasion.

Man City

As good as they’ve been, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing for Pep and company.

It took a couple of epic comebacks against Newcastle and Palace to avoid defeat and they were stung late on by Villa last time out to keep them off the top of the Premier League table.

Still, all signs point to a successful defence of their title and with Liverpool stuttering already I struggle to see anyone living with their consistency.

Avoiding injuries to key personnel will be the biggest worry as they navigate through various competitions. Even with their strength in depth, losing De Bruyne or Haaland or Dias would set them back.

In the here and now everyone seems to be fit and healthy and that is bad news for Wolves, not least because they’ve already scored 17 more goals than us, just 6 games into the season.

Wolves

Bruno’s decision to play Jonny in a back three and Chiquinho at wingback in this fixture last season was probably his worst decision as head coach.

That said, City make you want to experiment to combat their overwhelming dominance. It might be worth sacrificing an out-and-out striker to have Podence playing deeper to give us four bodies in the middle.

Neto, Guedes or Traore would then give us viable outlets, running outside to in when we can counter or get some form of possession.

I’m not sure if Raul or Costa are considered fit enough to start if Bruno wants something more conventional but hopefully at least one of them will be able to feature at some point.

Predictions

Rich remains at the top of the overall table at the end of Gameweek 6 after the Liverpool game was postponed.

As always, if you’d like to join in with the Prediction League this season, it’s simple – just leave your prediction in the comment section below using the boxes provided. Then repeat for every preview article throughout the season, making sure you always use the same email address to make your prediction. Your email is what ties you to your overall score.

You can read my prediction for the game in the comment section below.

Up The Wolves!

It’s hardly a surprise that one of the most technically gifted sides the game has ever seen swatted Wolves away with ease under the Molineux lights.

I came away feeling very little disappointment at being totally outplayed by a team that operates at a level we’ll never get anywhere near reaching.

At least most of the lads put some sort of shift in, and us weary fans are nearly at the end of a season that promised so much but, in the end, exposed the lack of backing given to Bruno to overhaul the squad.

Nothing less than a complete squad reshape will do this summer but we all know Fosun aren’t going to sanction this.

The biggest positive to take from the City mauling is Chiquinho’s performance even if he was playing out of position at right wing-back. His willingness to take on players with his pace and trickery and get involved at every opportunity was a breath of fresh air.

It was also nice to see Neto finding his form and setting up Donk for the equaliser. Raul, too, provided a timely reminder that he still has the ability to lead the Wolves line. Yes, he’s looked out of sorts at times this season, but that’s not been helped by a lack of service. A not-quite-at-it Raul is still levels above Fabio, who is a fish out of water. Who sanctioned that dreadful transfer?

I don’t understand Bruno’s logic either to move Jonny to centre back and play Chiquinho as the RWB. If you’re going to start Chiquinho then why not take the positive approach of playing him in his best position in a 343 and drop Donk into defence, allowing Jonny to start as RWB?

As good as City are on the ball, they shouldn’t have been able to cut through our defence so easily, especially for the first three goals. And that was playing the supposedly more solid system of 352. But what do you expect when you have Boly on the left, who has seen better days, and Jonny and Chiquinho out of position on the other side.

The most disappointing aspect of the evening was the way we passed the ball at a snail’s pace. This, and a lack of pressing, was the hallmark of the later part of the Nuno era, and it’s still very much embedded in the Wolves DNA. But what do you expect when the squad is largely unchanged?

It’s a shame because when we pressed City and moved the ball forward quickly, we caused them problems. 

It’s a bit like when Fosun sold us the dream of competing with the elite – you’re given a glimpse of what could be, but you’re only too aware that isn’t the reality.

‘Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment, full effort is full victory.’

Gandhi apparently, but I don’t always trust the internet.

Anyway, the point is there was definitely more bite in that Wolves team on Saturday and they got their reward in the end.

Chelsea are in a bad moment in the same way Brighton were in a good one the previous week, but the difference between the two performances for Wolves was being harder in the tackle and faster to the break of the ball. Everything else followed.

I suspect effort won’t be in short supply tomorrow as the lads will realise the magnitude of the challenge.

It’s a big ask, but we normally do a good job of ruffling Pep’s feathers – even in defeat.

Man City

Results at the weekend didn’t seal the title but they did give them a tiny bit of breathing room. They can now afford a small stumble in the final three matches, which must feel like a gigantic bonus.

I’d wager at least one of the three sides they still have to play – West Ham and Villa being the other two – will cause them some pain so that small gap could make all the difference.

You can rightly point to their mega-budget, but if they do see off a Liverpool side that I view as one of the greatest in Premier League history, I would count that as a big achievement regardless of their advantages.

The thing I do admire about City is that it’s always a real squad effort. Unlike Liverpool I don’t think I could reel off their best XI because it’s always rotating and whatever version you get seems to maintain a good level of performance.

Squad depth will be tested defensively though with Kyle Walker, John Stones and Ruben Dias all ruled out of the remaining games. Nathan Ake may also miss out tomorrow according to Pep.

Whatever they do at the back, we all know they have more than enough upfront to win comfortably, but perhaps it does expose a chink in the armour.

Wolves

No doubt there will be calls to start Chiquinho and possibly Trincao tomorrow after their rescue mission at Stamford Bridge, but I’d probably stick with a similar starting XI. You’ve got to respect the opposition.

I’m assuming Saiss will be out after limping off on Saturday but I wouldn’t mind another look at Toti or even Mosquera before the end of the season. A bit more pace in that back three wouldn’t be a bad thing either.

Packing the midfield and then trying to squirrel the ball up to Raul and Neto to get at their rejigged back four wouldn’t be a bad way to approach the game. Chelsea were exposed repeatedly by this tactic.

Then we’ve got attacking players with confidence in reserve to call upon if we need that extra push later in the game.

Last time out

That penalty shouldn’t have been given at The Etihad earlier in the season. It was one of those VAR wouldn’t have overturned if it hadn’t been given on the pitch. You can’t say they didn’t deserve the victory but it was a cheap way to get it in the end, particularly after Wolves defended so well with 10 men after Raul went insane. Kilman nearly salvaged a point at the end with our only meaningful attack.

We lost both games last season too, but did alright in spells. At Molineux we were 2-0 down early, but Raul got it back to 2-1 and a lot of good chances were wasted before Gabriel Jesus eventually killed the contest in injury time.

Predictions

Nobody predicted 2-2 at Stamford Bridge. There were a few 1-1 forecasts though so at least some people got on the scoreboard.

Brompton Wolf still remains clear at the top of the overall table at the end of Gameweek 35.

As always, if you’d like to join in, it’s simple – just leave your prediction in the comment section below using the boxes provided. Then repeat for every preview article throughout the season, making sure you always use the same email address to make your prediction. Your email is what ties you to your overall score.

You can read my prediction for the game in the comment section below.

Up The Wolves!