Kick-off: 1230, 31/12/2022
Stadium: Molineux
TV: BT Sport
Wolves may be buoyed by the new manager bounce factor but Manchester United are still expected to prove too strong at Molineux.
The Red Devils appear to have returned from the World Cup break fully focused and should be high on confidence following two convincing victories.
Punters can get 93/100 for an away win here and that is our first Wolves vs Man Utd prediction.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Odds
Julen Lopetegui began his Wolves reign with a 2-0 EFL Cup victory over Gillingham and then helped lift the club off the bottom of the Premier League table.
Wanderers came from behind to prevail 2-1 at Everton thanks to a 22nd-minute Daniel Podence equaliser and substitute Rayan Ait-Nouri’s stoppage-time decider.
However, that counter-attack winner came against the run of play and the feeling is that Wolves were fortunate to leave Merseyside with maximum points.
Lopetegui said: “We knew it was a hard task against a good team but they have suffered a goal and have shown a good mentality and didn’t think about it and continued to work on this situation.
“That is going to be very important for us and our belief in ourselves. We are happy but we are happy only for today.
“We will enjoy it but it is only three points and we know we have ahead of us a very hard task and we will continue working to improve a lot of things.”
Wolves had lost seven of their previous nine top-flight fixtures, though, and we need more convincing that they can get out of trouble.
Looking at the Wolves vs Man Utd odds, we like 9/2 for the visitors to oblige by any two-goal margin.
Last Wolves line-up: Jose Sa, Collins, Semedo, Kilman, Bueno, Neves, Moutinho, Hodge, Podence, Hwang, Costa.
Lopetegui has defender Jonny (hamstring) and midfielder Boubacar Traore (groin) available. Sasa Kalajdzic (knee) and Pedro Neto (ankle) are out but Podence is fit after coming off in the win at Everton.
Manchester United Odds
United followed up a smooth 2-0 EFL Cup success versus Burnley by powering to a 3-0 triumph over Nottingham Forest in the league.
Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial put the Red Devils in control with first-half strikes and substitute Fred finished the job off late on.
The highlight of that display, though, was a masterful midfield performance from Casemiro, who now seems to be completely up to speed with the English game.
United played with a patched-up defence, with Lisandro Martinez late back from Argentina duty, illness ruling out Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire fit enough only for the bench.
Raphael Varane started as the only recognised centre-half just days after returning from the World Cup, with Luke Shaw out of position next to him.
Erik ten Hag stated: “The back four never played together and we had a player who never played ever in a centre-back position.
“If you win with three, concede no goal, you are happy with the performance.
“Rapha shows once again his great personality, the standard he is giving Manchester United.
“I had a problem in the centre-half position and he took the responsibility and played really well and was important for our team.”
Varane’s commitment to the cause appeared to personify how United appear determined to kick on after the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Getting a run of games out of the fragile but classy Martial would be a big boost, especially after missing out on PSV striker Cody Gakpo.
Let’s add 5/1 for Martial to score first in an away win to our Wolves vs Man Utd betting tips.
Last Man Utd line-up: De Gea, Malacia, Varane, Shaw, Wan-Bissaka, Fernandes, Rashford, Eriksen, Casemiro, Antony, Martial.
Martinez, Lindelof and Diogo Dalot have resumed training for United.
Additional stats
[jsEntainMatchAnalytics match_id=”300342″]
[jsEntainMatchHead2Head match_id=”300342″]
Join bwin today and receive up to £20 money back as a FreeBet if your first wager (3+ selections at odds of 1/2 (1.5) or greater) is a loser! Terms and conditions apply.
