Wolves welcome Manchester United to Molineux on Boxing Day as two newly-arrived Portuguese managers look to instigate a turnaround in fortunes for their sides.
The Vitor Pereira era got off to a fine start on Sunday as Wolves produced one of their best performances of the season, a 3-0 dispatching of Leicester clearing up much of the chaos that had led to Gary O’Neil’s exit. The veteran manager has waited more than a decade for another Premier League opportunity having narrowly missed out on the Everton job in 2013 and is desperate to make the most of it, with victory here lifting the club out of the relegation zone with Leicester not in action until later.
The visitors, meanwhile, concluded their efforts before Christmas with a poor showing against Bournemouth. A seventh defeat of the season leaves Manchester United languishing in the bottom half and with tough fixtures against Liverpool and Newcastle to come over the next few days, Ruben Amorim may need a result here to generate some momentum heading into the back half of the season.
Follow all of the latest updates from Molineux in our live blog below:
Predicted line-ups
Wolves XI: Sa; Doherty, Bueno, Gomes; Semedo, Andre, Gomes, Ait-Nouri; Guedes, Cunha; Larsen.
Man Utd XI: Onana; De Ligt, Maguire, Martinez; Mazraoui, Ugarte, Mainoo, Dalot; Diallo, Fernandes, Hojlund.
Lawrence Ostlere26 December 2024 15:25
Team news
For United, there are no new injury concerns after the loss to Bournemouth, with Luke Shaw, Mason Mount and Victor Lindelof out. Matthijs de Ligt has missed the last two matches with an unspecified illness, so he could make a return at centre-back.
Chris Wilson26 December 2024 15:20
Team news
Wolves will welcome back Rayan ait-Nouri after he served his suspension in the win over Leicester, while Mario Lemina could also come back after suffering a calf strain. Boubacar Traore and Pablo Sarabia are unlikely to be back before the New Year, while long-term absentees Yerson Mosquera, Enso Gonzalez Medina and Sasa Kalajdzic remain unavailable.
Chris Wilson26 December 2024 15:15
Wolves vs Manchester United LIVE
Wolves beat fellow strugglers Leicester 3-0 away last time out, and they are now just two points behind the Foxes, though they are still just about in the relegation zone.
However, three points against United could take Wolves above Leicester – who face Liverpool today – and they will be more confident of getting a result after watching United lose 3-0 to Bournemouth last weekend.
Ruben Amorim’s side were humbled by the Cherries in a performance that’ll worry both fans and the manager, and they sit in 13th – the first time that they have spent Christmas in the bottom half since 1989.
United are nine points off Nottingham Forest in fourth, and they need a win here to relieve some of the pressure on the squad and their new manager.
Chris Wilson26 December 2024 15:10
Wolves vs Manchester United LIVE
Good afternoon and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of this evening’s match between Wolves and Manchester United at the Molineux.
New manager Vitor Pereira is looking for two wins from his opening two matches after an impressive 3-0 victory in his first game in charge, while Ruben Amorim has just two wins in the league since taking charge in early November.
We’ll have all the latest news, build-up and updates here.
Chris Wilson26 December 2024 15:01
