Following a surprising 2-0 away defeat at Arsenal, now Manchester United will look to shake off their woes in the FA Cup. The Red Devils will begin their campaign in one of the most traditional cup competitions in club football Saturday when they take on Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux. Playing a Third Round match in the FA Cup against a Premier League side is never easy. However, Manchester United must show they can beat anyone if they want to mount another title run here. This match will kick-off at 17:31 GMT.
Team News
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer provided a full update regarding team news for this encounter. Sergio Romero will start in place of David De Gea between the posts, but that’s not going to be the only change the gaffer will make. The squad could undergo some massive changes following a stretch of four Premier League games in 10 days. However, he didn’t reveal which players might be starting here. Solskjaer also revealed that Axel Tuanzebe is among five defenders on the verge of a first-team return. The others are Eric Bailly, Tim Fosu-Mensah, Diogo Dalot and Marcos Rojo.
Meanwhile, Wolves are not as affected by injuries as other Premier League sides. Their lone absentees will be defender Willy Boly and young midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White. However, both have been out for several months already so it’s unlikely these absences will play a role weakening Wolves ahead of this tie. There isn’t a lot of clarity regarding what’s going to happen with the squad that will face Manchester United, but they might field a very strong side considering the Premier League won’t resume until next weekend.
Form guide
Manchester United will debut in the FA Cup in this match. Last season, The Red Devils made it all the way to the quarterfinals where they lost to Wolves at Molineux. At least on paper, it seems this could be the perfect revenge game for Solskjaer’s men — especially after what happened against Arsenal earlier this week. The Red Devils have been playing quite well in Cup competitions this season. They are in the semifinals of the EFL Cup, and also reached the UEFA Europa League knockout stages after topping their group. Meanwhile, their overall five-game form reads W3, L2 in all competitions. Both defeats have come on the road by identical 2-0 scorelines.
On the other hand, Wolves have already played 35 matches in all competitions this term but the increased workload hasn’t affected their form. Nuno Espirito Santo’s men reached the knockout stages of the UEFA Europa League, and they also sit in seventh place of the Premier League standings. Their recent form, however, has been subpar at best. The Molineux outfit managed to string a run of 11 consecutive league matches without defeat, but they have dropped three of their last five. Their five-game form in all competitions reads W2, L3, although one of those wins came against Manchester City.
What is our recent record against Wolverhampton?
Wolverhampton and Manchester United have met on 102 occasions. Manchester United have won 48 times, drawing 18 and losing 36. This will be the 10th FA Cup tie between the two sides, with six of the previous nine occurring at Molineux.
Plus, this game means United will play at Molineux for the fourth time in the last 10 months. The Wolves are undefeated over that three-game stretch (W2, D1) and all three games have witnessed both teams scoring.
Predicted outcome
Both Wolves and Manchester United are coming off inconsistent runs of form, but United seem to have the edge when it comes to recent form. The Wolves are struggling of late, but they should be confident ahead of this contest given their record against The Red Devils. As it has been the case with the previous matches between these two sides at Molineux, we could be line for another tightly-contested affair. But the Wolves’ recent run of negative form could give Manchester United a slight edge here despite playing on the road.
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