With Manchester City having to wait until Monday night to face off against Wolves, the pressure is now mounting on the current champions to get a positive result following Liverpool's win over Brighton on Saturday afternoon. With Tottenham suffering defeat at home to Manchester United, it would seem to be all but confirmed that this is indeed a two-horse title race.

Current Form

Manchester City

Manchester City responded well to their recent downturn in form by winning two games on the bounce. More importantly, they managed to keep themselves in the hunt for the Premier League crown this season by beating Liverpool at the Etihad in the previous round of fixtures. Guardiola's team now sit in 2nd place on 50 points, 7 points behind leaders Liverpool, although they have a game in hand to try to bring it back to a 4 point gap. Over the previous 5 fixtures, Manchester City won 3 and lost 2.

Statistically, Manchester City have been very impressive throughout the season so far. They have scored 56 times, an average of 2.67 goals per game. Defensively, they have also looked solid as a rock having conceded just 17 times, an average of 0.81 goals per game.

Wolves

Wolves currently find themselves in 11th position in the Premier League table on 29 points although this is a little deceiving as they have a game in hand and could climb back to 7th if they beat Manchester City by 2 goals or more. Wolves have had a mixed bag of results so far this season but have often turned up against the larger clubs and put in good performances. Over the previous 5 fixtures, Wolves won 2, lost 2, and drew 1.

Statistically, Wolves have been mediocre so far this season. They could do with some more firepower up top and have scored 23 times so far, an average of 1.10 goals per game. Defensively, they haven't been too bad having conceded 25 times, an average of 1.19 goals per game, but with a lack of goals in their favour, they have languished in mid-table.

Head to Head

Over the previous 10 meeting between the clubs, Manchester City won 7, Wolves won 1, and there were 2 draws. Notably, Wolves haven't won in this fixture since October 2010, but the draw was obtained in the most recent meeting back in August 2018. Manchester City have been dominant in this game for a number of years but Wolves have shown that they can keep them at bay recently.

Analysis

Manchester City

Manchester City's recent slump in form has left them playing catch-up in the Premier League title race. The fact that Liverpool went out and won their tricky game against Brighton on Saturday afternoon will have possibly increased the pressure on Manchester City to take all 3 points here. On paper, they should be able to do that but Wolves are no pushover and Guardiola's team will need to play well to ensure they get the result they want. Whether the wait for this game to arrive will have an impact on how the players take to the field is yet to be seen but it's an extra factor that Manchester City won't have appreciated.

With the quality that Manchester City have within their squad, there's not a lot that needs to be said that hasn't already been said. Guardiola will approach this game in the same way that he always does; get the ball down and play fast, creative passes to unlock the defence. The quality of the attacking players tends to take care of the rest over the course of 90 minutes. However, Wolves will no doubt have spells of possession within the game and Manchester City cannot afford to be complacent in defence or they're likely to be punished. Taking control of the midfield battles will allow Guardiola's team to push Wolves back which will allow them to dominate the statistics, but the threat of a counter-attack cannot be underestimated.

Wolves

Wolves have done very well in this kind of fixture so far this season but it's no easy feat to go to the Etihad and get a result against this Manchester City team. Although Wolves don't have the advantage of playing at home here, there is a possibility that Manchester City will show signs of stress at having to chase Liverpool should they not score an early goal. With that in mind, if the Wolves defence can keep a clean sheet for the first 20 minutes or so then there may be opportunities to spring counter-attacks. Whether or not they're successful will come down to the performances of the attackers on the night but they certainly have enough quality to cause issues at times.

Being overrun in the midfield is the last thing that Wolves will want to happen as they will then struggle to get out of their own half. If they can win the 50-50 tackles and make the most of possession when they have it then things will be a little easier on them. Managing to stay in the game for as long as possible is another potential boost as the home crowd could quickly become frustrated to the detriment of their own team.

Predictions

Although my heart feels that Wolves are in a position to get a result here, my head is also telling me that Manchester City will be too strong at home over the 90 minutes. If Manchester City get an early goal then I don't see Wolves having the ability to get back into the game. If Wolves can hold on for a decent amount of time or take an early goal themselves then things could become very interesting as the pressure on Manchester City will ramp up considerably.

Prediction: Manchester City win

Score Prediction: Manchester City 2 - 1 Wolves

Betting Picks

Wolves to win at odds of 18.699

Despite my prediction above, I felt that these odds were too good to ignore for a Wolves win. My stake of 13.52 SCR would return a profit of 239.46 SCR should the bet win.

Draw or Wolves to win at odds of 5.28

Again, with the pressure on Manchester City to perform it's not unthinkable that things could go wrong for them. A small stake of 5 SCR at these odds would return a profit of 21.40 SCR

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