Manchester City head into their next fixture against Wolverhampton Wanderers winners of their last four across all competitions, a run that has seen them score 21 goals in total. Yes, it appears that City have broken out of their mid-season slump with authority. The Citizens welcome Wolverhampton Wanderers to the blue side of Manchester on Monday night, looking for a better result than they achieved in the reverse fixture (a 1-1 draw) early this season.
Given that most recent meeting, and the fact that Wolves have taken a point from all three of their visits to big six clubs thus far, you know Pep Guardiola won’t be taking the Midlands club lightly.
Let’s take a look at the fitness situation for both teams, starting with City. Striker Sergio Aguero might be in the mix for this one, having now recovered from illness. Defender Vincent Kompany could be back in contention as well having resolved his muscular injury.
During his weekly news conference on Friday however, Guardiola would not confirm the duo returning to action in this one. Both players missed the recent cup games.
One absentee from the cup matches who is expected to be back in action is midfielder Fernandinho. Defender Benjamin Mendy (knee) and goalkeeper Claudio Bravo (Achilles) remain long term injury absentees.
As for Wolves, they have no new injury concerns to speak of, so that’s great for them.
Wolverhampton Wanderers at Manchester City at FYIs
Kickoff: Monday, January 14, 8 PM local, City of Manchester Stadium
Google Result Probability: Manchester City win 47%, Draw 13%, Wolves win 5%
Manchester City Starting XI Prediction: go to this link
Odds via Sky Bet: Manchester City 1/5, Draw 11/2, Wolverhampton win 12/1
Prediction: City 3, Wolverhampton 1
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.