The Premier League starts all over again on Monday night as Wolves head to Old Trafford and wolves.co.uk provides the ideal pre-match preview.
Gary O’Neil’s first Wolves eleven will keep Manchester United guessing. The new head coach will have assessed the club’s pre-season friendlies, and training before Monday, to help mould his decisions. Matheus Cunha has missed a couple of days training, but the head coach remains hopeful he’ll be fit, and he has a number of other key decisions to make across the pitch. In each full-back position, there are big decisions – Nelson Semedo versus Matt Doherty on the right and Hugo Bueno or Rayan Ait-Nouri on the left. Of those who came off the bench against Stade Rennais last weekend, Joao Gomes and Hee Chan Hwang staked a claim for starts with second half goals. Fabio Silva and Sasa Kalajdzic came on against the Ligue 1 side too and will hope for a chance to impress the new head coach.
United’s new striker Rasmus Hojlund will not make his debut against Wolves, having arrived from Atalanta with a back injury, meaning Marcus Rashford is likely to lead the line. Mason Mount, however, is set to make his bow in the midfield, having joined over the summer from Chelsea and dislodged Christian Eriksen. Between the sticks, Andre Onana will make his debut, but Tyrell Malacia, Dean Henderson and Anthony Martial are all absent, as well as youngsters Kobbie Mainoo and Amad Diallo.
Wolves’ pre-season run in was an unbeaten one, with last Saturday’s win over Rennes the perfect send off. Earlier in the summer, Pedro Neto scored the winner against FC Porto, before Cunha’s penalty earned a draw with Scottish champions Celtic. A stalemate with Luton Town followed at Molineux, before the 3-1, where Rayan Ait-Nouri, Joao Gomes and Hee Chan Hwang bagged.
Wolves last three | D 1-1 Celtic (N) – D 0-0 Luton (H) – W 3-1 Stade Rennais (H)
Two different United elevens concluded pre-season last weekend. With the team likely to face Wolves, United beat French opposition in RC Lens 3-1 at Old Trafford. The following day, a much-changed side drew 1-1 with Athletic Bilbao in Dublin, where Wolves had faced Celtic the previous week. Earlier in the summer, United had suffered defeats to Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund.
Two members of the starting eleven which faced United at Old Trafford in May are no longer at the club. Ruben Neves and Diego Costa have moved on to pastures new over the summer. Dan Bentley impressed between the sticks on his Wolves debut that day, while Toti was chosen on the left, likewise Pedro Neto. Like during much of season run-in, Costa and Cunha formed a front two, but chances were few and far between that day.
Wolves | Bentley, Semedo, Dawson, Kilman, Toti, Nunes, Neves, Lemina, Neto, Cunha, Costa.
David de Gea has been the only United departure since that afternoon at Old Trafford. Victor Lindelof and Aaron Wan-Bissaka was in the defence that day, and Jadon Sancho and Anthony Martial further forward, but all four may have to make do with a place on the bench. Martial and Alejandro Garnacho were on target for the Red Devils.
United’s XI | de Gea, Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Lindelof, Shaw, Casemiro, Eriksen, Antony, Fernandes, Sancho, Martial.
The Express & Star suggest O’Neil will be driven by his successful spell and departure from AFC Bournemouth.
“This will not be in his in-tray as such, but O’Neil will also be driven by personal ambitions as well as those of the club. He took over in difficult circumstances at Bournemouth early last season, when Scott Parker was sacked after saying his squad was “under-equipped” to compete in the Premier League. He took the same group of players and guided them to a 15th-placed finish. His subsequent dismissal by the Cherries was widely regarded as harsh. By making an impact at Molineux he can undoubtedly make a point.”
Samuel Luckhurst, Manchester Evening News’ chief Manchester United writer, discusses new signing Mason Mount, who joined the club from Chelsea over the summer.
“There was plenty of logic behind United’s move for Mount: 24 years old, Premier League-proven, England international, into the last year of his contract, developed in the Netherlands and a regular finalist at club level. Mount is still quite the downgrade on Frenkie de Jong, whom United agreed a fee for last year, and he has underwhelmed across his five appearances. Jude Bellingham, virtuoso against United in Real Madrid’s 2-0 win last week, is at a level that may be beyond Mount. Had United managed to convince Bellingham back in 2020, Mount might not be at the club. Mount needs to hit the ground running against Wolves.”
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