Manchester City vs Wolves (Premier League): Match Preview, Team News, Head to Head, How to Watch | OneFootball

Manchester City will look to turn their fortunes around against a struggling Wolves side after a crushing defeat in the Arctic Circle against Bodo/Glimt.

On Tuesday night, Bodo/Glimt handed City their second defeat of this year’s UEFA Champions League league phase courtesy of a brace from Kasper Hogh and a stunning solo effort from Jens Petter Hauge to put the hosts three goals ahead before Rayan Cherki’s long-range strike.

Any momentum was short-lived after the Frenchman’s consolation effort, however, as Rodri’s red card shortly after the goal allowed the Norwegian side to shut up shop with relative comfort.

The defeat now leaves Manchester City needing a victory on the final matchday if they are to stand any chance of avoiding the play-off round for the last-16 of the competition. The Blues have now suffered back-to-back defeats for the first time since December 2024, following losses to Manchester United and Bodo/Glimt.

Having lost ground both in the Premier League title race and in the battle for direct qualification to the Champions League round of 16, a response is essential if Pep Guardiola’s side are to prevent further damage to their season.

Welcoming Wolves to the Etihad Stadium provides the ideal platform to do exactly that, with City having not lost a league match at home since August while Wolves have failed to win away from home in any competition since last April – a contrast that underlines the huge opportunity facing the six-time Premier League champions.

Wolves arrive in Manchester rooted to the bottom of the table, collecting just eight points from a possible 66, with only one league win to their name this season. That does not, however, guarantee a straightforward afternoon. With Arsenal seven points clear at the summit, anything other than three points would all but extinguish City’s hopes of reclaiming the title in May.

With fixtures mounting up, managing growing fatigue will be the biggest challenge facing Pep Guardiola. With several of City’s key players having logged significant minutes in recent weeks, striking a balance between rotation and building rhythm will be key if the Blues are to have any hope of reigniting their previous formidable form this weekend.

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Manchester City’s clash with Wolves on Saturday!

Match Details

Manchester City vs Wolves will kick-off at 15:00 (UK) on Saturday 24 January at the Etihad Stadium.

Match Officials

Farai Hallam will oversee the contest, in what will be his first time officiating a Premier League match and by extension, his first time officiating a Manchester City match.

You can check out the full list of match officials for the clash below!

Team News

Manchester City are still without three of their most senior centre-back options in Ruben Dias, John Stones and Josko Gvardiol – all of whom remain sidelined due to injury.

Mateo Kovacic has been out of contention since October and remains unavailable for this one, although he is expected to make his return within the next month. Nico has also been absent since a 10-1 victory against Exeter after picking up a knock in the previous encounter, and he remains hugely doubtful for this one.

Oscar Bobb and Savinho both remain out of contention, and if rumours are to be believed then the former may have made his last appearance for the Blues. Both players are expected to be fit sometime in February.

Matheus Nunes has missed out on the last two matches with flu, but despite hope within the Manchester City camp that he could be ready to make his return on Saturday, Pep Guardiola has since ruled out the midfielder.

Perhaps the most exciting news is that Marc Guehi is expected to make his first appearance for Manchester City, and with six goals conceded in the last two matches, a start for the centre-back could very much be on the cards.

Wolves will be without Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, Toti Gomes, and Leon Chiwome with all three sidelined through injury. Fer Lopez is currently in talks for a move away from the club and so is also likely to miss out.

Pep Guardiola’s Press Conference Quotes

Marc Guehi will make his Manchester City debut against Wolves, confirms Pep Guardiola, “Really good, considering the absences in central defence.”

Matheus Nunes continues to suffer from flu and Nico is unlikely to feature against Wolves, says Pep Guardiola, “Matheus still has the virus, I don’t know what the doctor will say this afternoon. And Nico, I don’t think so.”

“I have an EXTRAORDINARY team, an EXTRAORDINARY group of players, and we are all together. We are a fantastic, fantastic football team. I don’t have any doubts about that.”

“Do you think playing good or bad just depends on Rodri? Give him time; it’s 11 months [injured], you need time to recover. I know the reason why we are struggling now, I KNOW, 100%, what’s happening with the team. I know it. So try to give a little bit more time and give it. Will it be enough? I don’t know. I know it’s a disaster having 13 points in the Champions League, I know, but there are eight teams with 13 points and one of them is one of the best teams in the world. But for them it’s fine, for us it’s a disaster. The standards are so high, guys.”

Head To Head

History between Manchester City and Wolves stretches back to 1899, having clashed 132 times across more than a century. City hold a narrow historical edge with 58 victories, but Wolves are close behind on 50 wins, with 25 draws separating them.

Since Pep Guardiola took over, the two teams have faced each other 15 times in the league. Guardiola’s side have claimed 11 wins, while Wolves have won three. The aggregate score across these 15 fixtures stands at 38–13.

The last time the two teams met was in August during the opening game of the Premier League season. On that occasion, City ran out 0-4 winners at Molineux, with goals from Erling Haaland, Tijjani Reijnders, and Rayan Cherki making the difference.

Statistics

This fixture has the highest goals-per-game ratio (3.83) of all matchups played at least 60 times in English Football League history.

Erling Haaland has scored 10 goals in just six games against Wolves, making him City’s top scorer in this specific fixture’s history.

Since returning to the Premier League in 2018, Wolverhampton Wanderers have received more red cards against Manchester City than any other opponent in the competition (three).

Manchester City is unbeaten in 30 league games against a side starting the day bottom of the table, winning their last nine home fixtures by a crushing 36-0 aggregate score.

Scoring has been a major issue for Wolves , with Santiago Bueno, Hwang Hee-chan, Ladislav Krejčí, and Mateus Mané all tied as top league scorers with just 2 goals each.

Wolves have the worst goalkeeper save percentage in the Premier League at 57.1%, the only club below 60% this season.

Wolves rank second in the league for the number of tackles made (374), but have the lowest tackle win percentage at 55.3%. 

Wolves rank last in the Premier League for the total number of shots taken (165) and shots on target (53). They also rank lowest in the league for shot-creating actions.

Across the entire 2025 calendar year, Manchester City amassed more Premier League points than any other team, with 80 points from 37 league outings.

How To Watch

The game will not be available to watch live in the UK due to the 15:00 blackout rule. The game will, however, be available to listen to on BBC Radio 5 Live.

For viewers in the US, the game will be available to watch on Peacock and NBCSN.

Check out the full global TV listings HERE!

City Xtra will have full live coverage available on our X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram channels throughout matchday, with content also provided on cityxtra.co.uk!