Premier League: City Cannot Underestimate the Wolves

Manchester City vs Wolverhampton Wanderers

Manchester City are aiming to widen their lead over everyone at the Premier League standings when they’ll host the Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Etihad this Saturday.

The Sky Blues have moved back to the driver’s seat after last week’s set of Premier League 2021 results. Fresh from their win over Watford and Chelsea’s stunning defeat to West Ham United, City are at first with 35 points while Liverpool and Chelsea are close by with 34 and 33 respectively.

Pep Guardiola’s side did suffer a loss to RB Leipzig yesterday in the Champions League group stage, though. However, their qualification in the knockout stages isn’t affected since they’ve finished on top of Group A.

Nonetheless, City would want a bounce back performance and they shouldn’t let their guard down against Wolves.

The Wolves are at the back of a tough defeat vs. Liverpool. And despite failing to win in their last three league matches, Bruno Lage’s men have shown that they’re capable of giving their opponents a run for their money.

Talking Points

Kevin De Bruyne’s return is a welcome sight for Manchester City

Pep Guardiola is eager to see his captain Kevin De Bruyne work his way back to top form in these next few weeks after testing positive for COVID-19 not too long ago.

De Bruyne’s substitute appearance in their 3-1 win at Watford was his first since November 6 and he made it into the starting XI yesterday during their 2-1 loss to RB Leipzig.

Against the Red Bulls, De Bruyne got some vital minutes and he was able to register a shot on target when he forced a save from Peter Gulacsi via a free-kick near the half-time break.

It has been an frustrating year so far for De Bruyne as prior to his illness, he was seemingly finding his rhythm following injuries to his face and ankle during the Champions League final and at Euro 2020.

Now that he’s back at 100-per cent, De Bruyne will be competing regularly for a place in the midfield with Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, Ilkay Gundogan, and Jack Grealish all in tow.

Having a loaded rotation is a good problem to have if you’re Pep Guardiola since he has the luxury of shuffling his lineups without skipping a beat.

Tough schedule ahead for the Wolves

December is going to be a huge month for the Wolves’ campaign as they’ll face five top-half squads and only two from the bottom half.

Their first December match was against a relegation-threatened side in Burnley six days ago. However, they missed their chance of gaining maximum points since they were held to a goalless draw.

Earlier this week, Bruno Lage’s men showed great spirit and intensity as they almost held Liverpool to a stalemate. However, Divock Origi bailed out the Reds with his added-time goal.

Since their attack leaves a lot to be desired, Wolves’ defence is what’s keeping them afloat as they’ve conceded only once in their last four games and they should stick to the same formula against Manchester City.

History

The Wolves’ recent visits to the Etihad have not gone well for them as prior to this Saturday, they’ve only won once in their last nine tries (L6, D2).

Their most recent away win over City took place in October 2019 where they beat them 2-0 as Adama Traore scored two quickfire goals between the 80^th to the 90^th minute.

City were simply the better club down the stretch when they previously met last March. It looked like both teams were about to share points when it was level at 1-1, but Gabriel Jesus and Riyad Mahrez caught fire late to secure the 4-1 win.

Betting Tip

	Manchester City vs Wolverhampton Wanderers	1X2 Manchester City @ 1.17
	December 11, 20:30 (GMT+8)

The SBOTOP Premier League 2021 odds have a Manchester City victory written all over it. In the 1×2 market, the Sky Blues are the overwhelming favourites at 1.17 while the Wolves are priced low at 14.50 to win and a draw is at 6.80.

As far as the Asian Handicap market is concerned, you can get a decent payout for a Manchester City win for either -1.75 @ 1.71 or -2.00 @ 1.93.

We agree that going for a City win is a safe bet. However, we’re also recommending to go for Under 2.50 @ 2.71 since this season’s statistics suggest that we won’t see too many goals this match.

Fatigue may play a factor for City as this is their second game in four days, but their overall quality should be enough to beat Wolves by scoring at least once without conceding.

 

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