Manchester United travel to the West Midlands on Boxing Day looking to avoid a third successive defeat in all competitions when they take on Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux.
More questions than answers have been provided for Ruben Amorim in recent weeks, with former United captain Gary Neville even pointing out that weekend's defeat at home to Bournemouth – the second year in a row the Cherries have won 3-0 at Old Trafford – It was a shock. “A huge positive” considering how clearly he emphasized the team’s flaws.
Wolves, on the other hand, are one game into a new era after replacing Gary O'Neill with Vitor Pereira earlier this month. Their 3-0 win over fellow strugglers Leicester City was a potential catalyst for improvement as we reach the halfway point of the season.
Wolves vs Man Utd H2H record (last five matches)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Wolves |
Man United |
|---|---|
|
Leicester 0-3 Wolves – 22/12/24 |
Manchester United 0-3 Bournemouth – 12/22/24 |
|
Wolverhampton 1-2 Ipswich – 12/14/24 |
Tottenham 4-3 Manchester United – 12/19/24 |
|
West Ham 2-1 Wolves – 12/9/24 |
Man City 1-2 Manchester United – 12/15/24 |
|
Everton 4-0 Wolverhampton – 12/4/24 |
Viktoria Plzeň 1-2 Manchester United – 12/12/24 |
|
Wolverhampton 2-4 Bournemouth – 30/11/24 |
Manchester United 2-3 Nottingham Forest – 12/7/24 |
|
nation |
TV Channel/Live Broadcast |
|---|---|
|
UK |
Amazon Prime Video |
|
US |
USA Network, Universo, fuboTV |
|
Canada |
Fubo TV Canada |
Rayan Ait Nouri returned from suspension after picking up a red card against Ipswich Town, although the full-back received another yellow card again from another suspension.
Mario Lemina is a doubt after missing Pereira's first game due to a knock. The midfielder was stripped of the captaincy by O'Neill. Pablo Sarabia and Boubacar Traoré are not expected to return until January, with Sasa Kalajdzic out until February.
Expected Wolves lineup against Manchester United (3-4-2-1): this; Doherty, Bueno, T. Gomez; Semedo, J. Gomez, Andre, Ait Nouri; Cunha, Guedes, Larsen.
There are still defensive concerns for Amorim, with Matthijs de Ligt absent against Bournemouth due to illness. Victor Lindelof was also absent from that match, with Luke Shaw ruled out. Furthermore, Mason Mount will be sidelined for “several weeks” again as well.
Marcus Rashford has now missed three matches Amid his declared readiness for the “new challenge.”
Expected Manchester United lineup against Wolverhampton (3-4-2-1): Onana; Euro, Maguire, Evans; Mazraoui, Casemiro, Maino, Dalot; Imad, Fernandez; Hoglund.
This game will demonstrate two things: whether Wolves are truly witnessing a bounce-back under their new manager, and whether Manchester United have the resilience needed to bounce back from a bad defeat.
Confidence in Wolves is much higher than it was just a week ago, and if there was ever a time for them to face United, it would probably be now.
