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GOAL! Wolves 0-1 Man United (Fernandes, 25)
What a gloriously shambolic goal.
24 mins: Bellegarde is needlessly cleaned out of the touchline by Mazraoui while running the ball out of play.
23 mins: United are looking the more dangerous by far at Molineux. They’ve enjoyed some neat touches in and around the box but Wolves are able to get in the way of crosses.
“Apologies in advance, but the two Buenos among the Wolves substitutes are two good to just sit on the bench,” ‘jokes’ Peter Oh. “I’ll get my winter coat now.”
22 mins: I watched a lot of Wolves last season and most of my work centred around Wolves being capable of winning if Cunha had a good game. They do miss having someone of quality at at the club, that’s for sure. This team offers very little.
20 mins: Dalot comes over to the right to launch a long throw. By hook or by crook, Wolves do manage to get it clear.
“|I think Manchester United could have skipped the first 15 minutes and they’d still win, given Wolves showing so far,” writes Justin Kavanagh.
18 mins: The Wolves fans are quite noisy, referring to Jeff Shi as a … ermmm … naughty word.
16 mins: Here come the remaining fans …
They are treated to a mix up between Lammens and Heaven, but United escape without a severe incident.
15 mins: Andre slings a cross in from the right but it is cleared at the front post. Maybe Wolves will never score again. Johnstone sends another clearance straight out of play.
14 mins: Bellegarde jumps up to challenge Casemiro with a high boot and catches the Brazilian on the toe, much to the United midfielder’s chagrin.
Wolves win a corner …
12 mins: Maybe the Wolves players will get a boost when the rest of their fans get into the stands in a few minutes …
11 mins: Lee McDonagh is doing his bit: “In a slightly futile show of solidarity, I’m boycotting the first 15 mins on Sky, well as a London based Wolves fan I couldn’t get there in time to actually be late.”
10 mins: The resulting corner eventually reaches Mbeumo at the back post. His volley looks to be flying in but Johnstone reacts smartly again.
Mazraoui is the next United player to have a shot, earning a corner for his effort. Johnstone misses it this time and Wolves are lucky not to suffer a terrible fate.
Mazraoui is down and wants treatment after a challenge from Arias.
8 mins: Johnstone tries to clear the ball but whacks it straight out of play. Wolves just look like a very meek football team.
They are almost behind thanks to a long ball over the top by Fernandes which Dalot latches onto. The wing-back goes through on goal but Johnstone produces a fine save.
6 mins: United win the first corner of the match. Fernandes goes over to take it on the left. The skipper puts it right on top of Johnstone, who is able to punch the ball clear.
4 mins: The shortage of home fans does make the atmosphere a little strange. Molineux is very quiet.
Andre decides to excite everyone by shooting from 30 yards but it is blocked. A timid opening few minutes.
2 mins: There are, as predicted, plenty of empty seats in the stands. The fans are showing their upset with the ownership.
On the pitch, Cunha’s first touch is booed.
Kick off
Peep! Peep! Peep! Here we go!
The players are in the tunnel.
David Bowen writes: “That Carragher soliloquy/diatribe will no doubt be more entertaining than tonight’s fixture.
“Would you class that as a full spleen vent?”
I was worried he’d forgotten to breathe at one point.
Ruben Amorim on team selection: “:We are] trying to get more danger, balance the team, play a little different. I just look at the opponent, the way we trained in the week and maintain the way we want to play.
“We lost too many points this season due to details.
“We need to prove ourselves in the game.”
Jamie Carragher is currently explaining why Mohamed Salah was wrong to throw his verbal hand grenade at the weekend. He’s really not happy.
Justin Kavanagh emails: “Wolves fans can say what they want about Fosun (and they’re probably right), but it’s not all owners who install a quality Subbuteo pitch like that in the home dressing room.”
Matt Burtz emails: “There are some who don’t believe in xG, and that’s fine. For those who do, Wolves’ xG per 90 minutes is -0.44. Not great, but it’s only the fourth worst in the Premier League. (Interestingly enough, it’s ahead of Sunderland’s -0.52.) But the main stat for Wolves is an xG against of 18.9, which is seventh in the PL (and better than that of third place Aston Villa). This means they’ve been incredibly unlucky in keeping goals out. Clearly they need to score more goals as one every two games isn’t going to cut it at any level, but if their luck balances out defensively there is a theoretical chance of them putting some results together.”
It’s a nice theory.
It is the festive season, which means I am now sat next to a Christmas tree with flashing lights.
There are plans for a fan protest by Wolves supporters at Molineux tonight. Those attending are urged to stay outside for the first 15 minutes to show their anger against Fosun and its ownership of the club.
Cunha’s return is a reminder of what Wolves once had, when they were quite good in the market. Now they are a club that sells their best players and replaces them with people not up to the job.
Dave Easterby writes: “Two points from 14 games and a goal difference of -22 would suggest Amorim’s men have got Wolves covered tonight. Couple of goals, three points, top six, luvvly jubbly.
“But it’s Monday and it’s Man Utd so this has probably got disaster written all over it.
“That poor lad’s NEVER getting his hair cut …”
Matheus Cunha returns to Molineux.
Rob Edwards: “We knew it was going to be tough. Nothing has surprised me. We’ve had three games, we’ve had the good, the in between and no so good. We want to try and find consistency, and be better at both ends of the pitch.
“There’s realism in the conversations we have. We still want to try and be positive but we all know the situation we are in. We have to act quickly.
“We’ve created good chances and had good moments. We want the lads to take risk and arrive in good numbers in those areas. Last time out we did not take risks.”
Pre-match reading.
Starting lineups
Wolves: Johnstone, Hoever, Mosquera, Agbadou, Toti, Wolfe, Andre, Krejci, Bellegarde, Arias, Starand Larsen.
Subs: Sa, H. Bueno, S. Bueno, Hwang, Arokodare, Chirewa, Lopez, Mane, Tchatchoua.
Man United: Lammens, Mazraoui, Heaven, Shaw, Amad, Casemiro, Fernandes, Dalot, Mbeumo, Cunha, Mount.
Subs: Bayindir, Dorgu, Malacia, Martinez, Yoro, Mainoo, Ugarte, Lacey, Zirkzee.
Preamble
Manchester United and Ruben Amorim crave consistency, even more than that poor lad desperate for a haircut. After winning three games in a row in October, they have won once in their past five Premier League matches. The performance against West Ham on Thursday clearly irritated Amorim and he will be wanting a reaction at Molineux.
Thankfully for the visitors, Wolves are pretty awful. They are propping up the table with a miserable two points from 14 matches. Relegation looks a certainty for Rob Edwards and his new side. It is getting to the stage where the pressure is almost off because they do not give off the impression that they will be able to overhaul the three clubs above them even at this relatively early stage.
Let’s hope it is competitive at least.
Kick-off: 8pm GMT
