Manchester City will endeavour to follow up their comeback victory in midweek with another three points in the Premier League when they play host to Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The visitors, meanwhile, are bidding to extend their unbeaten away run in the top flight to four matches and steer themselves clear of the relegation zone.
Match preview
© Reuters
Three successive defeats seems unthinkable for a Pep Guardiola side – who were beaten by Southampton and Manchester United last week – but that appeared to be on the cards as Man City headed into half time 2-0 down against Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday night.
However, the Citizens fought back like true champions, turning the game on its head within the first 12 minutes of the second half courtesy of strikes from Julian Alvarez, Erling Braut Haaland and Riyad Mahrez, before the latter sealed the win with a fourth goal in stoppage time.
Despite the victory, which has moved them to within five points of leaders Arsenal, Guardiola launched a scathing attack on his players and fans after the game, with the Spaniard frustrated by their lack of "passion" and "fire", and he believes City will drop more points if they fail to perform at the required level.
The Citizens now have three of their next four matches in front of their own supporters, including Sunday's encounter against a Wolves side whom they have beaten in each of their last five league meetings, scoring 16 goals and conceding just three in the process.
City's clash with Wolves is a favourable fixture on paper in the short term, with encounters against Arsenal and Spurs again on the horizon, and a victory on Sunday would see them close the gap on the Gunners to just two points before Mikel Arteta's side lock horns with Man United later that day.
© Reuters
After securing a slender 1-0 victory at home against fellow Premier League strugglers West Ham United last weekend, Wolves were beaten by the same scoreline in front of their own fans against Liverpool in their FA Cup third-round replay on Tuesday night.
Julen Lopetegui believes that his side deserved more from their midweek battle with the Reds, but a first-half strike from Harvey Elliott ultimately eliminated the West Midlands outfit at the first hurdle.
While many supporters would have enjoyed a cup run, the defeat could prove to be a blessing in disguise for Wolves as they can now focus fully on their battle to avoid relegation from the Premier League, with Lopetegui's side currently sitting in 16th place and just two points above the bottom three at the halfway stage.
Wolves are still the lowest scorers in the Premier League this season with just 12 goals to their name, but they appear to have turned a corner under Lopetegui as they have picked up seven points from a possible 12 available since his appointment in November.
Although Wolves head into Sunday's game as underdogs, they will be hoping to match their feat of October 2019 when they secured a 2-0 victory at the Etihad Stadium – the only win in their last 10 visits to Man City across all competitions.
Team News
© Reuters
Man City's only injury concern is with right-back Rico Lewis, who is doubtful for Sunday after coming off in the closing stages against Spurs with a minor ankle injury; the 18-year-old could be replaced by Kyle Walker in the first XI.
Centre-back duo John Stones and Ruben Dias both returned from respective fitness and hamstring issues to play some part on Thursday and they will both be in contention to start against Wolves along with Manuel Akanji, Aymeric Laporte and Nathan Ake – the latter may keep his place ahead of Joao Cancelo at left-back, though.
Kevin De Bruyne, who missed training on Tuesday due to personal reasons, will likely return to the starting lineup after watching on as an unused substitute against Spurs, while Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva and Kalvin Phillips will also be pushing to start after beginning on the bench last time out.
Alvarez and Mahrez impressed in attack in the second half on Thursday and both could keep their places alongside Haaland, who has scored 15 of his 22 Premier League goals at the Etihad so far this season.
As for Wolves, Diego Costa recovered from a knock to feature off the bench against Liverpool and the 34-year-old will be competing to start in attack along with Raul Jimenez, Matheus Cunha and Hwang Hee-chan.
However, Sasa Kalajdzic (ACL), Pedro Neto (ankle), Boubacar Traore (groin) and Chiquinho (knee) all remain sidelined due to injury.
Lopetegui is expected to revert to a similar side that beat West Ham last weekend, with Nelson Semedo, Max Kilman and Hugo Bueno all set to return in defence, while midfielder Matheus Nunes and attacker Daniel Podence could also be recalled to the first XI.
New recruits Mario Lemina and Pablo Sarabia, who both joined Wolves on permanent deals earlier this week, will be in contention to make their debut at the Etihad, while Goncalo Guedes has left the club to join Benfica on loan for the rest of the season.
Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Ederson; Walker, Stones, Dias, Ake; De Bruyne, Rodri, Bernardo; Mahrez, Haaland, Alvarez
Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Sa; Semedo, Collins, Kilman, Bueno; Lemina, Neves, Nunes; Hwang, Cunha, Podence
We say: Manchester City 3-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Man City have not looked themselves in recent weeks and have conceded twice in each of their last three games, which bodes well for Wolves heading to the Etihad.
However, we expect the Citizens to come out with all guns blazing on Sunday following Guardiola's criticism in midweek and the reigning champions should have enough quality in their side to get the job done on home soil, increasing the pressure on league leaders Arsenal.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Oliver Thomas
