Returning to Old Trafford after their weekend stalemate away at Leicester City, Manchester United would welcome a high-flying Wolves side on Tuesday as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men hope to capitalise on their game in hand to move up the league standings.
A 2-2 affair at the King Power Stadium on Saturday brought about the Red Devils’ ragged efficiency on the pitch, brilliant going forward, quite the opposite when asked to defend against opposition sides fast on the counter.
Having gone ahead through Marcus Rashford’s opener, Harvey Barnes turned spoilsport for United just prior to the half-time whistle as the Foxes left no stone unturned in handing a major upset to the in-form Red Devils side.
But as is so often the case in recent times, Portugal playmaker Bruno Fernandes was in scintillating form over the course of the 90 minutes in East Midland over the past weekend, with the former Sporting Lisbon man teeing up Rashford’s opening goal before scoring himself in the second-half as Solskjaer’s side looked to secure all three points from their travels away from home.
But the ever-present Jamie Vardy salvaged a much-deserved draw for Brendan Rodger’s men as he bundled the ball past the United backline, carrying a heavy deflection from Alex Tunzabe to leave David de Gea helpless between the sticks.
A chance to move up to second in the Premier League was squandered by United on Saturday, however, come Tuesday, Solskjaer’s men would be hoping to come out on top of Nuno’s Wolves, a team that have regained their previous run of good form when turning up against the top-six of English top-flight football.
Wolves’ last outing in the Premier League resulted in a stalemate as well, but the 1-1 dogged draw against Jose Mourinho’s Spurs gave clear evidence of the attacking qualities possessed by the Midlands-based outfit in spite of the defensive tactics put to play by the ex-Manchester United boss, now in charge of the North London giants.
Romain Saiss’s late header in the Boxing Day fixture against Tottenham Hotspurs earned Nuno Espirito Santo’s men a well-deserved point from their home fixture, heading into a much more perilous task away at Old Trafford.
United’s solid run of form whilst playing at home turf, with a total of seven points secured out of the last nine possible, does seem to suggest that the Red Devils will go into Tuesday’s game as heavy favourites but Nuno and Co. should look to thrive on their underdogs status to hand a major upset to Solskjaer’s side.
WHEN AND WHERE?
Date – 29 December Tuesday
Time – 3 PM BST
Venue – Old Trafford
TEAM NEWS
Victor Lindelof was slotted in at right-back during the 2-2 draw at Leicester City as the Swedish defender stepped in for the injured Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
However, the central defender was forced off the pitch at half-time owing to a long-term recurring back issue, meaning that the Red Devils could be without the Swede for the upcoming clash against Wolves.
As Solskjaer’s side play their second league fixture within a span of just three days, Edinson Cavani is tipped to be in line to start Tuesday’s Old Trafford showdown in the hope of Solskjaer awarding some rest to Anthony Martial.
KEY BATTLE
Marcus Rashford vs Conor Coady
𝗥ooney
𝗥onaldo
𝗥𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗱🔥 @MarcusRashford became the third-youngest player to hit 5️⃣0️⃣ #PL goals for United on Saturday.#MUFC pic.twitter.com/hSccNCQmug
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 27, 2020
Rashford has staged a return to his goalscoring ways of late, and the English international’s opening goal against the Foxes was his fourth in five outings for Solskjaer’s side.
Going up against his compatriot Coady on Tuesday presents Rashford with yet another chance to increase his tally for United, having seen his status as the club’s attacking talisman diminish recently, much in light of Bruno Fernandes’ superlative run of form in front of the goal.
The Wolves skipper Coady harbours intense feelings towards the Red Devils largely due to his affection for his boyhood side Liverpool FC, and the newly capped English defender would hope to make the 90 minutes at Old Trafford quite tough for Rashford and Co.
MATCH PREDICTION
Manchester United’s great form at home territory could see Solskjaer’s side fend off any potential danger from a resilient looking Wolves, but Tuesday’s visitors to Manchester come with a task of their own, to move into the top half of the league table.
All eyes on #MUNWOL tomorrow 👀#MUFC pic.twitter.com/p307GUrxrq
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 28, 2020
We predict Tuesday’s affair at Old Trafford to result in another stalemate for both teams, and despite the match expected to go quite close till the end, a 1-1 draw would prove to be a fair result for both parties involved.
