Manchester City, like all teams that took part in the Club World Cup, only resumed training a couple of weeks ago, well behind the others. Pep Guardiola’s team, which missed out on a fifth consecutive title last season, finishing third, a long way behind champions Liverpool, has played only one friendly: last Sunday, it beat Palermo 3-0 at home, a club that is part of the same “galaxy” as the wealthy Emirati owners who, in just over a decade, have made City one of the strongest teams in Europe.
After a generally disappointing season, which was also affected by the serious injury to Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, the Catalan coach wants to return to dominance in both England and Europe.
In the last two transfer windows, the club has spared no expense: yes, captain De Bruyne has left, but several talented players have arrived, including former Milan player Reijnders and Cherki and Ait-Nouri, purchased from Lyon and Wolverhampton respectively. Wolves will be Manchester City’s opponents in the first game of the season: the black and gold team are coming off a season in which they secured safety well in advance, despite finishing in sixteenth place. They have confirmed Portuguese coach Vitor Pereira, who took over from Gary O’Neil midway through the season, but have been forced to say goodbye to two of their best players: the aforementioned Ait-Nouri and striker Cunha, who has moved across Manchester to United. On the other hand, the club has secured the services of Colombian Arias, who impressed in the last Club World Cup with Fluminense.
Odds comparison
Manchester City’s victory is quoted at 1.43 on Lottomatica and 1.42 on Snai. The “Over 2.5” bet is quoted at 1.60 on Lottomatica and Snai.
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The prediction
Despite having played only one friendly match, Haaland and his teammates should not slip up in their debut. Molineux is traditionally a difficult stadium to win at, but Wolves are weaker than last year and have lost their last three friendlies (Lens, Girona, and Celta Vigo). We expect at least three goals in total.
Probable line-ups for Wolverhampton-Manchester City
WOLVERHAMPTON (4-2-3-1): José Sá; Pedro Lima, Toti Gomes, Agbadou, Wolfe; Joao Gomes, André; Arias, Bellegarde, Hwang; Strand Larsen.
MANCHESTER CITY (4-3-3): Ederson; Lewis, Ruben Dias, Gvardiol, Aït-Nouri; Reijnders, Gündoğan, Bernardo Silva; Cherki, Haaland, Doku. POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-2