Two Premier League teams seeking to swiftly move on from their midweek EFL Cup exits will face off at Molineux on Saturday as Wolverhampton Wanderers play host to Manchester City.
While Gary O'Neil's side were beaten 3-2 away against Championship club Ipswich Town on Tuesday, Pep Guardiola's men suffered a slender 1-0 loss at Newcastle United on Wednesday.
Match preview
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O'Neil has been left with plenty to ponder following an unwanted four-match winless run in all competitions, with back-to-back league defeats to Crystal Palace and Liverpool followed by a controversial 1-1 draw at Luton Town last weekend and their midweek EFL Cup defeat to Ipswich.
Wolves were two goals ahead inside the opening 15 minutes at Portman Road thanks to strikes from Hwang Hee-chan and Toti Gomes, but Ipswich quickly restored parity before Jack Taylor's spectacular long-range strike completed the comeback midway through the second half.
The West Midlands outfit return to home soil this weekend where they have already lost two Premier League games against Brighton & Hove Albion and Liverpool, and it is fair to say that the fixture generator was not kind to O'Neil's side who have Man City, Aston Villa, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur up next at Molineux.
Since doing the double over Man City in the 2019-20 season, winning 2-0 at the Etihad Stadium and 3-2 on home soil, Wolves have lost each of their last six meetings with the Citizens by an aggregate score of 19-3, including a 3-0 defeat last season, albeit while playing for nearly an hour with 10 men.
Sitting 16th in the Premier League table and hovering just three points above the relegation zone, with both Luton and Burnley below them possessing a game in hand, defeat for Wolves on Saturday would see them lose their opening three home games of a league season for just the third time in their history after 1986-87 and 2021-22.
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For just the second time in 39 games in 90 minutes across all competitions, Man City tasted defeat after they were narrowly beaten by Newcastle United in the EFL Cup on Wednesday, crashing out in the third round for the first time in a decade.
In a game of two halves between two teams who had made several changes to their lineups, Alexander Isak's 53rd-minute strike settled the contest, with the Citizens ultimately failing to respond to going a goal down following a dominant first half in possession.
Pep Guardiola was full of praise for his players despite the defeat, and while an unprecedented quadruple is now not on the cards, City's exit from the EFL Cup can at least remove one competition from their already hectic fixture schedule that will soon include Club World Cup matches in Saudi Arabia.
Man City, who sit top of the Premier League table after winning each of their first six games, are now preparing for three consecutive away fixtures within eight days, with Saturday's trip to Wolves followed by visits to RB Leipzig in the Champions League and a top-flight showdown with Arsenal.
The reigning champions have fond memories of their last three visits to Molineux, winning all three by an aggregate score of 11-2 and scoring at least three on each occasion; another victory on Saturday would see City win their opening seven games of a top-flight season for the first time in their history.
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Wolves currently have a clean bill of health, but they will be without midfielder Jean-Ricner Bellegarde who will serve the second of his three-match ban this weekend after being sent off against Luton, while Man City loanee Tommy Doyle is ineligible to face his parent club.
After making 10 changes in midweek, O'Neil is expected to revert to a similar side that began against Luton, with goalkeeper Jose Sa set to be protected by a back four of Nelson Semedo, Craig Dawson, Max Kilman and Rayan Ait-Nouri.
The absence of Bellegarde and Doyle could see Boubacar Traore handed a start in centre-midfield alongside Mario Lemina and Joao Gomes, while Pedro Neto and Matheus Cunha could be recalled in attack to start alongside Hwang Hee-chan.
As for Man City, Rodri is suspended after being sent off for violent conduct in the 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest last weekend, while Kevin De Bruyne (hamstring), John Stones (muscle) and Bernardo Silva (leg) all remain sidelined with injuries.
The Citizens were boosted by the return of Mateo Kovacic in midweek and he could continue in centre-midfield alongside either Kalvin Phillips or Matheus Nunes, who is poised to return to familiar territory after leaving Wolves in the summer.
Guardiola is set to recall a number of stars who were rested in midweek including Ederson, Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, Phil Foden and Erling Haaland, the latter of whom scored four goals across two games against Wolves last season.
Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Sa; Semedo, Dawson, Kilman, Ait-Nouri; Gomes, Traore, Lemina; Neto, Cunha, Hwang
Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Dias, Ake; Kovacic, Nunes; Foden, Alvarez, Doku; Haaland
We say: Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-4 Manchester City
Man City tend to respond well from minor setbacks and they will be considered as strong favourites to bounce back with a victory against an out-of-sorts Wolves outfit this weekend.
The hosts will fancy their chances of finding the net having scored in each of their last nine league games at Molineux, but Guardiola's side should have few problems outscoring their opponents en route to a comfortable win in the West Midlands.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Oliver Thomas
