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Manchester United logo
Premier League | Gameweek 16
Dec 29, 2020 at 8pm UK
Old Trafford
Wolves logo

Man Utd
1 - 0
Wolves

Rashford (90+3')
Rashford (50')
FT(HT: 0-0)

Patricio (73')

Preview: Manchester United vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Tuesday's Premier League clash between Manchester United and Wolves, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Manchester United will be determined to return to winning ways in the Premier League when they welcome Wolverhampton Wanderers to Old Trafford for Tuesday evening's showdown.

Both teams walked away with a point from their most recent encounters, with Man United drawing at Leicester while Wolves held Tottenham to a 1-1 stalemate on Sunday evening.


Match preview

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer looks dejected after seeing his side knocked out of the Champions League on December 8, 2020© Reuters

Manchester United's away record in the top flight is nothing short of sensational, and Leicester City were facing an uphill battle to be the ones to end the Red Devils' 10-game Premier League winning streak on the road.

Boxing Day's clash between two Champions League-chasing sides lived up to its billing, and despite going 2-1 up thanks to goals from Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes, a late Axel Tuanzebe own goal ensured that Leicester walked away with a point after Harvey Barnes had initially levelled the scores.

Even though United were unable to stretch their winning away record in the top flight to 11 matches, Arsenal did Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men a favour by beating Chelsea a few hours later, meaning that Man United remain in the Champions League places for the time being.

Furthermore, that point at the King Power Stadium saw the Red Devils extend their unbeaten run in the Premier League to eight matches, with United finally starting to produce the goods on their own turf after struggling in the early stages of the season.

Solskjaer's men have taken seven points from a possible nine in their last three home league matches, and United fans will not be able to forget that 6-2 thrashing of Leeds in a hurry, but the visit of Wolves represents a much sterner test for Man United.

Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Nuno Espirito Santo pictured in August 2020© Reuters

Meanwhile, Wolverhampton Wanderers welcomed Tottenham Hotspur to a ground where they had overcome Chelsea just a couple of weeks before, although Nuno Espirito Santo's side could not get the better of Burnley at Turf Moor before the festive weekend.

The West Midlands outfit failed to return to winning ways on their own patch, but the Wolves faithful will no doubt be satisfied with a point after witnessing their side hold Tottenham to a 1-1 draw on Sunday evening.

The reinvigorated Tanguy Ndombele opened the scoring for Spurs, but Romain Saiss's late header ensured that Wolves walked away with a deserved point, although Santo would have felt frustrated not to have taken all three against a stuttering Tottenham outfit.

Fabio Silva spurned a terrific chance to win the game right at the death, and that point against Jose Mourinho's side sees Wolves overtake Leeds to sit in 11th spot after 15 matches, with the West Midlands outfit now five points adrift of the European places.

United and Wolves met four times across all competitions last season - with three of those ties ending in draws - and the Red Devils have only managed to win one of their last seven games with Wolves in the Premier League and FA Cup.

Manchester United Premier League form: WWDWWD
Manchester United form (all competitions): LDWWWD

Wolverhampton Wanderers Premier League form: WLLWLD


Team News

Manchester United defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka pictured warming up in December 2020© Reuters

Victor Lindelof was unable to play through the pain against Leicester as his chronic back problem forced him off in the second period, and the makeshift right-back is not expected to feature on Tuesday.

The Red Devils have not disclosed details regarding Aaron Wan-Bissaka's injury, but with the defender also a doubt here, Tuanzebe should be given the chance to redeem himself with a start against Wolves.

Changes could be afoot with only 72 hours in between matches, with Edinson Cavani - who provided the assist for Fernandes's 10th league goal of the season on Boxing Day - potentially in line to spearhead the attack in place of Anthony Martial.

As for Wolves, Marcal struggled near the end of the game on Sunday evening, and with less than 48 hours to recover, Rayan Ait Nouri is likely to start against Man United.

Long-term absentees Raul Jimenez and Jonny Otto were joined in the stands by Leander Dendoncker and Willy Boly for the visit of Spurs, and the pair remain major doubts for this one too.

Manchester United possible starting lineup:
De Gea; Tuanzebe, Maguire, Bailly, Telles; Fred, McTominay; Greenwood, Fernandes, Rashford; Cavani

Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Patricio; Semedo, Coady, Saiss, Ait Nouri; Neves, Moutinho; Traore, Podence, Neto; Silva


SM words green background

We say: Manchester United 2-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers

United have had an extra day off to recover from their hard-fought draw at the weekend, and the Red Devils boast a much stronger bench than Wolves do amid their injury problems. Santo's men fully deserved their point against Spurs and arguably should have taken all three, but United will offer a far greater attacking threat and Solskjaer's men should come up trumps at Old Trafford, but it is sure to be close.


Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 1.5:curl



Video prediction

Watch the Sports Mole Football Shorts prediction for this game below:



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Written by
Ben Knapton

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Manchester United win with a probability of 57.23%. A draw had a probability of 22.4% and a win for Wolverhampton Wanderers had a probability of 20.33%.

The most likely scoreline for a Manchester United win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.4%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.91%) and 2-0 (9.72%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.61%), while for a Wolverhampton Wanderers win it was 0-1 (5.68%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 10.4% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-0 win for Manchester United in this match.


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Game History

How you voted: Man Utd vs Wolves

Manchester United
78.5%
Draw
14.1%
Wolverhampton Wanderers
7.4%
312
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Manchester United striker Edinson Cavani celebrates scoring against Southampton in the Premier League on November 29, 2020
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Tables header RHS
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2Chelsea17105237191835
3Arsenal1796234161833
4Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest179442319431
5Bournemouth178452721628
6Aston Villa178452626028
7Manchester CityMan City178362925427
8Newcastle UnitedNewcastle177552721626
9Fulham176742422225
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton176742726125
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs1772839251423
12Brentford177283232023
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd176472122-122
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham175572230-820
15Everton163761421-716
16Crystal Palace173771826-816
17Leicester CityLeicester173592137-1614
18Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1733112740-1312
19Ipswich TownIpswich172691632-1612
20Southampton1713131136-256


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