‘New’ kick-off time for Wolves vs Man City – prediction, team news, lineups

Wolverhampton Wanderers welcome Manchester City to Molineux for their opening fixture of the 2025-26 Premier League season on Saturday evening.

While the Citizens relinquished their iron grip on the title and finished 13 points behind champions Liverpool last season, the Old Gold settled for a 16th-placed finish after flirting with relegation.

Match preview

Boasting just one point from their opening eight matches and then 15 from 23 games, Wolves struggled in the first half of last season under former boss Gary O’Neil before their form drastically improved in the final few months of the campaign under Vitor Pereira, who has transformed from a virtual unknown to a cult hero at Molineux.

Ten of the Old Gold’s 12 wins in the 2024-25 Premier League came from Pereira’s 22 matches at the helm, and the 57-year-old Portuguese has not only endeared himself to Wolves supporters with results on the pitch, he has warmed himself to the club’s fanbase with frequent visits to local pubs after a game.

Wolves have not been in red-hot form over the summer, though, as they failed to win any of their five pre-season friendlies (D1 L4), most recently losing 1-0 at home to Spanish side Celta Vigo last weekend, with Pereira’s squad still adjusting to life without last season’s top scorer Matheus Cunha and new Man City recruit Rayan Ait-Nouri.

Club World Cup star Jhon Arias, fellow attacker Fer Lopez and the superbly named David Moller Wolfe have all arrived at Molineux this summer, and Pereira is expecting up to three more signings to be made to bolster a squad determined to stay as far away from the relegation picture as possible this term.

Gearing up for their eighth consecutive top-flight season, Wolves have only won one of 20 league games to be played in August (D9 L10) and have lost their opening-day fixture in each of the last four seasons. The Old Gold have also suffered defeat in all but one of their last 10 PL encounters with Man City since winning back-to-back meetings in 2019, so they could well be up against it in this weekend’s contest.

Man City have moved swiftly on from what was a turbulent 2024-25 campaign in which injuries and the drop-off in form from several key players contributed to the club finishing as low as third in the Premier League and failing to win a major trophy in any competition for the first time in eight years.

The Citizens also crashed out in the last 16 of the FIFA Club World Cup earlier this summer, with their early exit from the tournament held in the United States allowing Pep Guardiola’s side to reflect and recharge their batteries over a four-week period, before reporting for pre-season training at the end of July.

Man City’s squad have prioritised rest and recuperation over gaining substantial pre-season minutes this summer and they subsequently took part in only two friendlies, with a slender 1-0 win over Preston North End behind closed doors followed by a 3-0 victory against sister club Palermo in Sicily last weekend.

Guardiola is now preparing for his 10th season in English football and has overseen plenty of change at Man City this summer. Kevin De Bruyne, Kyle Walker and Jack Grealish are three notable departures, while Tijjani Reijnders – who scored twice against Palermo – new No.10 Rayan Cherki and James Trafford are among the exciting signings made under new director of football Hugo Viana.

The 2025-26 season will be the ninth in a row that Man City will begin with an away fixture, and having won seven of the previous eight of those (L1) – scoring 19 goals and conceding just twice in the process – the Citizens will back themselves to make a positive start this weekend as they seek to launch an early challenge for their seventh PL title in nine seasons.

Wolverhampton Wanderers pre-season form:

L D L L L

Manchester City pre-season form:

W W

Team News

Wolves will be without injured duo Leon Chiwone (knee) and Fabio Silva (thigh) – the latter of whom is also the subject of interest from a number of European clubs and is expected to leave before the transfer window closes – but Yerson Mosquera is fit to begin as a substitute after making progress in his recovery from a knee problem.

Pereira is set to stick with his favoured 3-4-3 formation and a back three of Matt Doherty, Emmanuel Agbadou and Toti Gomes could line up in front of Jose Sa, whose save percentage of 59.7% was the lowest of the 26 goalkeepers to play at least 10 times in the Premier League last season.

Brazilians Joao Gomes and Andre were the most commonly used midfield pair last season and they are expected to provide plenty of energy and defensive cover, while Ki-Jana Hoever could start at right wing-back following the departure of Nelson Semedo.

Pereira will be tempted to hand full Premier League debuts to attacking duo Arias and Lopez, and they could provide support for central striker Jorgen Strand Larsen who scored 14 league goals last season.

As for Man City, Mateo Kovacic and Kalvin Phillips remain sidelined after undergoing Achilles surgery earlier this summer, while Josko Gvardiol (knock), Savinho and Ederson (unspecified) – who have recently been linked with Tottenham Hotspur and Galatasaray respectively – are also sidelined with injuries.

Ballon d’Or winner Rodri picked up a ‘big injury’ at the Club World Cup and Guardiola has suggested that he may not return to his best until after the international break in September, but the midfielder – along with Phil Foden who has recovered from a knock to his ankle – will travel with the matchday squad to Molineux and could be in contention to feature in some capacity – most likely as a substitute – against Wolves.

The absence of Ederson is set to see Trafford handed his Man City debut between the sticks, and former Wolves duo Ait-Nouri and Matheus Nunes could start as full-backs, while Reijnders is pushing to start his first Premier League game and could be joined in midfield by new captain Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gundogan or Nico Gonzalez.

Cherki will also hope to force his way into the first XI, although he faces competition from the likes of Foden, Jeremy Doku, Omar Marmoush and Oscar Bobb for a place in the final third, while star striker Erling Haaland, who has scored eight goals in just five games against Wolves, is almost guaranteed to lead the line.

Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:

Sa; Doherty, Agbadou, Toti; Hoever, J. Gomes, Andre, Wolfe; Lopez, Arias; Strand Larsen

Manchester City possible starting lineup:

Trafford; Nunes, Dias, Ake, Ait-Nouri; Bernardo, Gundogan, Reijnders; Foden, Haaland, Marmoush

We say: Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-2 Manchester City

Man City did the double over Wolves last season, winning both matches by a one-goal margin, and this weekend’s opening fixture could be another closely-contested battle.

However, the Citizens will be regarded as favourites to come out on top and should have enough quality to outscore an Old Gold outfit who conceded the fourth-most league goals last season (69).

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