Premier League: When the Going Gets Tough…

Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Manchester City

Just before the new season gets going, this SBOTOP scribe is asking you to spare a thought.

For a manager who arrived in the Black Country the week before Christmas to take over a team bottom of the Premier League with a trip to a relegation rival first up.

Wolves won that match at Leicester and have rarely been concerned with finishing in the drop zone since, even winning six matches in a row between late March and the end of April as they stormed up the league to mid-table safety.

It’s been an incredible transformation at Molineux where Vítor Pereira  delivered a series of Premier League 2025 highlights.

Now he’s being asked to do it all over again, arguably with an even weaker hand!

 

Talking Points

If you were basing the accolade solely on the second half of the campaign, then Pereira would probably have been one of the managers of the season.

From before the turn of the year, when he inherited a team which was struggling, Pereira gave them confidence and oversaw an instant improvement, including implementing a back three and getting Jørgen Strand Larsen scoring.

Away from the pitch, Pereira also become a firm favourite in the Black Country, heading to the pub after matches, joining supporters for a pint in the city centre as part of his “first the points, then the pints” mantra,

His achievement proved me and some others, who thought their top flight status was under threat, completely wrong.

Fast forward to the eve of the new campaign and an even tougher task awaits the Portuguese boss.

The worrying, yet not insurmountable signs, were on display in their 1-0 friendly loss at home to Celta Vigo – their final outing before the start of the new campaign.

A combination of a toothless attack – weakened by the sale of Matheus Cunha – and a far from convincing backline, has left followers worried.

Although pre-season results are insignificant, four defeats and two draws from their six friendlies have only exacerbated that concern.

It’s not just Cunha who has departed, with Rayan Aït-Nouri and Nelson Semedo also exiting Molyneux and, in truth. recruitment has come at a trickle so far. Attacking midfielder Fer López has clear potential, wingback David Møller Wolfe can hopefully fill the void left by Aït-Nouri and Jhon Arias – the winger brought in from Fluminense – but the squad still looks short in several areas.

As fan Thomas Baugh outlined this week: ‘Survival should be the minimum requirement in what’s now our eighth consecutive top-flight season, but it still feels like the main objective with no meaningful signs of ambition.’

One man who has no such problems is Pereira’s compatriot, Pep Guardiola.

It’s been many a year since Manchester City went into a new campaign not being spoken about as title favourites. In fact, I can only remember this happening on one occasion in the past decade.

Yet that is the reality after a campaign in which they ended up empty handed, including a one-sided last 16 exit in the Champions League.

The position the Spaniard and his men find themselves in, however, may actually be beneficial. 

The loss of Rodri early last term undermined their entire season, both damaging from a team perspective but also psychologically in that they appeared to believe the critics who said they would struggle without him.

A sequence of defeats in November and December duly followed, from which they never fully regained their mojo (even though they went onto claim third place in the table and reach the FA Cup Final).

Rodri has now sustained an injury setback which will not see him return to full fitness until after September’s international break.

While a blow – the Spain international was absent for the majority of last season with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament – they should now not be as reliant on him as in the past.

One of the men brought in this summer certainly impressed at the weekend with a two goal salvo from the bench as City concluded their pre-season preparations with a commanding victory over Palermo. In what was their only summer friendly, following their Stateside campaign, another new boy Rayan Cherki set up Erling Haaland for the opening goal in the first half before being replaced at half-time by Tijjani Reijnders.

And it was the Dutch midfielder who produced two slick finishes to establish his credentials and show that the loss of Rodri for another month may not be as damaging as it once was.

Like Wolves, City have work to do but, unlike Wolves, they are starting from a position of strength and that should be evident in this campaign opener.

 

History

Historically, these sides can barely be separated.

City have triumphed in 57 of their meetings, with Wolves successful in 50 of the contests and the other 25 ending as draws.

City have triumphed in nine of the last 10 which tells you all you need to know about the modern era.

This corresponding game last term was won by a last gasp John Stones header, in the fifth minute of stoppage time, in a contest which seemed destined to end one apiece after Strand Larsen and Josko Gvardiol traded first half goals.

City also edged the return match in Manchester in May when Kevin de Bruyne scored the only goal.

Wolves did seal a league double over City in 2019 and a comeback 3-2 victory at Molyneux when Adama Traore, Raul Jimenez and Matt Doherty sealed the points.

City had played for almost 80 minutes with 10 men after goalkeeper Ederson was sent-off but had still gone 2-0 up, courtesy of a Raheem Sterling double.

That was also the campaign when they last won at the Etihad Stadium as Traore scored twice in the final 10 minutes in a 2-0 win.

Their very first meeting came in September 1899 at Hyde Road in Manchester in a League Division One encounter which ended 1-1.

 

Betting Tip

Premier League 2025 betting odds don’t come much more one-sided in favour of the away team.

While Wolves’ struggles are reflected in odds of 1X2 @ 6.20 and Asian Handicap +1.00 @ 2.20, the omens are very different for City.

They can be backed 1X2 @ 1.41 and Asian Handicap -1.50 @ 2.31.

The Draw is on offer @ 4.31, while a re-run of last season’s meeting at Molyneux will pay out @ 18.00 with Correct Score 1-2.

If you fancy a fair few goals, as I do, then how about Total Goal 2-3 @ 2.06, 4-6 @ 2.79 and over 3.00 @ 2.09. I am not opting for any of those, mind. Instead, I am plumping for City to lead at the break and at full-time..

   

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