ENGLISH PREMIER BETTING PREVIEW - WOLVES VS MANCHESTER CITY

English Premier

2025-08-16 - Wolves vs Manchester City

A Sports Betting Preview by Auls

Wolves v Manchester City
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 16th August 2025 - Kick Off 5:30pm
This game is live on TV

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Wolves

The large majority of attention was on Liverpool Football Club after the untimely passing of Diogo Jota, but those of a Wolves persuasion will equally miss a player who was so beloved at Molineux. There will be tributes paid to Jota and his brother at all Premier League clubs this weekend, but the emotions will be as raw here on Saturday night as they will have been at Anfield in the season opener.

Vitor Pereira came in as manager of a Wolves team that had been struggling under Gary O'Neil and he guided them to comfortable safety, but it will be a challenge for the manager to help his players compete in the atmosphere. Key players have been sold this summer, although there is a belief that Pereira's experience can ensure Wolves are not dragged into the bottom three in May 2026.

There will be a feeling that home form can be improved this season after Wolves concluded the 2024/25 season with a 6-3-10 record here. Wolves also ended last season having failed to win any of their last 4 Premier League games, although the 1-1 draw with Brentford ended a sequence of 3 straight defeats. However, only 1 of the last 6 League games at Molineux ended in a Wolves loss.

Yerson Mosquera and Fabio Silva are set to miss out, but Jhon Arias is available to make his competitive debut.

Manchester City

After winning four Premier League titles in succession, Manchester City entered the 2024/25 season as a considerable favourite to continue their dominance of English Football. A serious injury suffered by Rodri changed everything for Manchester City with key players also looking like they had aged overnight and Pep Guardiola ended the season without silverware for the first time since his first season in charge at the Etihad Stadium.

The disappointing performance in the Club World Cup has extended the relative poor form and Manchester City will go into this season as third favourites to win the title and a much bigger price than they have been in recent season. They finished 13 points behind Champions Liverpool, who had taken the foot off the gas at the end of the season, and Manchester City will be keen to improve the 8-5-6 away record compiled last time around.

Manchester City had won 5 in a row in all competitions following the surprising FA Cup Final defeat to Crystal Palace, but that run was ended by Al-Hilal when losing to the Saudi club in the Club World Cup Second Round, albeit After Extra Time. They are unbeaten in their last 4 away Premier League games, but Manchester City have been held to draws twice in that run.

Rodri picked up a knock in the United States and is not expected to be available until after the September international break. Both Josko Gvardiol and Phil Foden are doubts for this weekend. After spending big money in January, Manchester City have shelled out considerable investment again as they look for a much stronger campaign.

Head to Head

Both Premier League games were won by Manchester City against Wolves last season, although they needed an injury time goal from John Stones to secure a 1-2 win at Molineux.

That result does mean Manchester City have won on 4 of their last 5 visits to this part of the Black Country.

Prediction

There will be plenty of eyes on the late Saturday kick off in the Premier League with some tipping up Wolves as a potential relegation candidate and others wanting to see if Pep Guardiola can rediscover some of the Manchester City magic that was clearly missing last season.

It was a tough season for Manchester City after setting the standards for so long in the Premier League- failing to win silverware for the first time since Guardiola's first season in charge is an obvious blow, but the fact they were never really able to push for a fifth Premier League title in a row will have hurt.

More investment has been made to change the nature of the squad- Kevin De Bruyne is an obvious big name who has departed- but Manchester City failed to really make an impact at the Club World Cup this past summer.

They are facing a Wolves team who need to find a way to replace the creativity and quality of Matheus Cunha.

Vitor Pereira has to be given a lot of credit for the way he helped the team turn things around last season, but it is another summer where Wolves have taken in more money than they have spent and the squad needs players to step up.

There are some pressures for the defenders and attackers to deal with and it may be that Wolves still need to add some bodies before the close of the transfer window.

Wolves can give Manchester City problems considering the defensive issues that remained evident at the Club World Cup. Rodri's absence is a blow and it would not be a surprise if Wolves play their part in this fixture, although the lean has to be with the away team to find the attacking play needed to earn the three points.

Manchester City have won 4 of their last 5 visits to Molineux, which is a factor, and they have tended to score at least twice in those fixtures here. Erling Haaland may not have Kevin De Bruyne, but they showed at the Club World Cup that Manchester City can still create chances and that should see them come through here.

Last season they won 8 away Premier League games and all but one of those was in a fixture where Manchester City scored at least twice. And only the opening day win at Chelsea was one that Manchester City recorded against a team that finished in the top half of the table.

There are two approaches that felt best with this game- either backing Manchester City to cover the Asian Handicap, which needed a win by at least two goals to return a full winner, or backing the visiting team to win a game featuring at least two goals scored by Manchester City.

Wolves lost 10 times at home last season, and 6 of those defeats were by a one goal margin. Of those 6, 5 were by the exact 1-2 scoreline and that is a big runner in this fixture on Saturday afternoon so backing Manchester City to win in a match that features at least two goals is the play.

The Pick :

Wolves 1-2 Manchester City

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

I'll back Manchester City to Win & Over 1 Total Goal (Bet Builder) at 1.75 with Bet365 (early payout if a team is leading by two goals)