City has a score to settle with Wolves, who handed them a 2-1 loss at Molineux nearly eight months ago. After a commanding 4-0 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion, City earned another three points with a 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest at the City Ground, marking Pep Guardiola's 300th Premier League game.
In that match, Josko Gvardiol opened the scoring with a header, and Erling Haaland, returning from injury, added another goal less than 10 minutes after coming off the bench. With 21 goals in the league, Haaland leads the scoring charts.
If Arsenal beats Bournemouth earlier on Saturday, City could find themselves four points behind the Gunners. However, with two games in hand, City could narrow the gap to one point by beating Wolves.
After three away games in a row, City is back at the Etihad, where they haven't lost in 42 games across all competitions, tying a club record set between 1919 and 1921. If they avoid defeat on Saturday, they'll set a new record. Moreover, City has won seven of their last eight home league matches against Wolves, scoring 19 goals in the process. Given this record, Guardiola's team will be confident of getting a win.
On the flip side, Wolves, who hadn't won in seven matches, managed to beat Luton Town 2-1 last weekend, giving them a boost in their quest for a top-half finish. Goals from Hwang Hee-chan and Toti Gomes helped Wolves secure all three points.
However, their manager, Gary O'Neil, won't be on the sidelines due to a one-match touchline ban following an incident in a previous game. With the win over Luton, Wolves are now 11th in the Premier League, three points behind West Ham United in eighth and seven points adrift of Newcastle United in seventh.
Wolves have had a rough time on the road lately, failing to win any of their last four away games. Now they face tough back-to-back trips to Manchester City and Liverpool. Historically, Wolves have struggled against teams at the top, losing 18 of their last 20 away games against the top two teams in the league.
Yet, one of those rare victories was against City back in 2019, and they're one of only a few teams to have beaten City this season. This history might give Wolves some hope for a surprise result on Saturday.
INJURIES & SUSPENSION
Manchester City got a big boost on the injury front, as Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Phil Foden, Ruben Dias, and Ederson are all likely to play on Saturday. Foden and Dias missed the Nottingham Forest match due to illness, while Ederson had to leave at halftime with a shoulder injury. However, they've all been training this week and should be good to go.Foden, recently named the Football Writers' Association (FWA) Footballer of the Year, might return to the starting lineup, potentially playing alongside Kevin De Bruyne in a more attacking midfield role. Dias is in the mix to start in central defense, competing with John Stones, Manuel Akanji, and Nathan Ake.
Julian Alvarez could be benched, as Erling Haaland is ready to start after recovering from a minor muscle problem. Haaland, who scored a hat-trick in his only home game against Wolves last season, will be eager to make an impact.
On the Wolves side, they've got a few injury concerns of their own. Craig Dawson and Leon Chiwone are out for the rest of the season due to groin and ankle injuries, respectively. Additionally, Tommy Doyle, who's on loan from Manchester City but set to sign permanently in the summer, is ineligible to play against his parent club.
However, there's some good news for Wolves, as Pedro Neto (hamstring), Santiago Bueno (hamstring), and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde (knee) have all returned to full training this week. Rayan Ait-Nouri, who exited the Luton game with a knee injury, is also being assessed ahead of kickoff.
Nelson Semedo has been playing as a right-sided center-back in Wolves' last two matches, and he might continue in that role against Manchester City. Matt Doherty could play at right wing-back, while Matheus Cunha and Hwang Hee-chan, the latter having scored against City in the reverse fixture, are expected to lead the attack.
POSSIBLE LINE-UPS
Manchester City possible starting lineup:Ederson; Walker, Stones, Dias, Gvardiol; Rodri; Bernardo, De Bruyne, Foden, Grealish; Haaland
Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Sa; Semedo, Kilman, Toti; Doherty, Lemina, Gomes, Traore, Ait-Nouri; Cunha, Hwang
EXPERT PREDICTION
Manchester City 2-0 Wolves
Wolves might be the underdogs going into Saturday's game, but they have reasons to be hopeful. They've already beaten Manchester City once this season and picked up away wins against Chelsea and Tottenham since January.
That said, Manchester City has been nearly unbeatable at the Etihad for a while now. If they start both Phil Foden and Erling Haaland, their attack could be tough for Wolves to contain, especially since Wolves have let in goals in each of their last 10 games. City's firepower might be too much for Wolves to handle.
