Wolves v Man Utd predictions: Red Devils look too strong

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Wolves v Manchester United in the Premier League on Saturday.

Where to watch

BT Sport 1, 12.30pm Saturday

Best bet

Manchester United
2pts 10-11 bet365, Betfair, Hills

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Team news

Wolves
Daniel Podence is expected to be fit. Boubacar Traore and Jonny Castro are also back in contention. Pedro Neto is still out.

Man Utd
Diogo Dalot is a doubt. Victor Lindelof and Scott McTominay are hoping to be available after bugs.

Match preview

Julen Lopetegui has made the perfect start to life as Wolves boss with two wins out of two but expect it to be third time unlucky when Manchester United visit Molineux.

The Old Gold are feeling better about themselves after moving off the foot of the Premier League courtesy of a 2-1 win at Everton.

That followed a hard-earned 2-0 win over Gillingham in the League Cup before Christmas, giving the club's new head coach a 100 per cent start.

But it took a strong Wolves almost 80 minutes to finally break down League Two strugglers Gillingham and it wasn't a particularly good performance at Goodison against an Everton side who were pretty ropey.

All in all there was nothing in either performance to suggest Wolves are going to be racing away from the relegation zone any time soon with the squad the Spaniard has inherited, and also little to suggest that a revitalised United won't put them in their place.

Erik ten Hag's men will have had 24 hours less to prepare for the fixture but they also boast far more options in each position and can land the odds at 10-11.

United, like Wolves, have gone two out of two since the World Cup break, beating Burnley 2-0 in the League Cup and Nottingham Forest 3-0 in the league.

Marcus Rashford has scored in each game – making it 13 for club and country in an increasingly impressive season – while improvements across the pitch are evident.

The impact of the arrival of Casemiro and Christian Eriksen cannot be overstated while the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo has removed a soap opera which was providing a disruptive backdrop for all at Old Trafford.

Anthony Martial has scored five goals since coming back into the team in October and class acts like Alejandro Garnacho and Anthony Elanga offer fresh legs and genuine class off the bench.

Wolves, in contrast, look far more threadbare and if there's one decision fans want Lopetegui to make against United it's to end the Diego Costa experiment and bring in a fit-again Raul Jimenez.

That wouldn't necessarily mean goals are going to start flowing from the division's lowest scorers, a side whose two at Goodison took them to a paltry ten for the campaign. And failing to find the net isn't a new problem – only the three teams who went down scored fewer last term.

It's a headache Lopetegui needs to address in the window but for now it's a handicap that makes them vulnerable against the top sides. Wolves' only three wins this term have come against the other three sides housed in the bottom four.

Key stat

Wolves have won only two of their last 11 home league games.

Inside info

Wolves

Penalty taker Raul Jimenez
Assist ace Joao Moutinho
Set-piece aerial threat Diego Costa
Card magnet Ruben Neves

Man Utd

Penalty taker Bruno Fernandes/Marcus Rashford
Assist ace Christian Eriksen
Set-piece aerial threat Harry Maguire
Card magnet Bruno Fernandes

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