Manchester City will begin their bid to reclaim the Premier League title as they travel to the Molineux to take on Wolves on Saturday night.
After winning a record four Premier League titles on the bounce, Manchester City endured a disappointing campaign last season, as they finished in third position, a massive 13 points behind winners Liverpool.
The Citizens also failed to win a trophy, as they were beaten 1-0 in the FA Cup final by Crystal Palace on an afternoon where our man SlipsTips landed a couple of winners.
Pep Guardiola’s men also took part in the Club World Cup over the summer, and after cruising through their group, they were surprisingly eliminated in the last-16 to Saudi side Al-Hilal.
Wolves endured a disastrous start to the campaign last season, as they earned a solitary point from their opening eight Premier League matches.
However, following the arrival of Vitor Pereira, the Old Gold did eventually climb out of the relegation zone and finished in 16th position, a massive 17 points clear of the relegation zone.
How the bookies view it: City favourites
As expected, the bookies have installed Manchester City as favourites to open their campaign up with all three points, with BoyleSports pricing them at just 4/9.
The same firm has the hosts as 5/1 underdogs, whilst the draw is 10/3.
Head to head: City dominance
As expected, this is a fixture Manchester City have dominated in recent seasons, with Guardiola’s men winning nine of the past 10 meetings between the two sides (W9-D0-L1), including both encounters last season (1-2 & 1-0).
Players to watch: Haaland to hit the target?
Erling Haaland had an injury-hit campaign last season, but he still managed to score 22 goals in the Premier League. The Norwegian also has a terrific record against Wolves, scoring eight goals in his five appearances against them, and the 22/25 on offer for him to bag here appeals to me.
Predicted line-ups:
Wolves will be expected to hand out debuts to new signings Jhon Arias, David Moller Wolfe, Fer Lopez and Ki-Jana Hoever.
Pep Guardiola will be without defensive midfielders Rodri and Mateo Kovacic, but Rayan Ait-Nouri is in line to make his debut against the club he just left in the summer.
Wolverhampton Wanderers: Sa, Doherty, Agbadou, Gomes, Hoever, Gomes, Andre, Wolfe, Arias, Lopez, Larsen
Manchester City: Ederson, Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, Ait-Nouri, Reijnders, Gonzalez, Foden, Cherki, Marmoush, Haaland
Anything else catch the eye?
As stated above, Manchester City has an excellent recent record against Wolves, winning nine of the previous 10 meetings between the two sides – including doing the double over them last season.
Seven of those nine victories saw a minimum of three goals, and given 25/38 (66%) of Wolves’ matches in the Premier League last season saw three or more goals, combining a Manchester City win and Over 2.5 Goals appeals at 11/10 at BoyleSports.
The Old Gold only failed to score three times at home in the Premier League last season, so combining a Manchester City win and Both Teams to Score pays a juicier 2/1 at BoyleSports.
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