Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Manchester City Prediction, Preview & Betting Tips

Wolves home form wasn't the best last season, with the Midlands club the 16th-best side in the league on their own patch, claiming 21 points from 19 games. Away from home, Manchester City were solid last season, claiming 29 points from 19 games while also losing just one of their last five on the road.

Crucially, City have dominated the recent head-to-head meetings between the two, winning four of the last five encounters, including all of the last three.

It is, then, hard not to see the visitors coming out on top here against a Wolves side that might take a few weeks to find their feet following the loss of key players over the summer.

Wolves 1-2 Manchester City

Wolverhampton Wanderers host Manchester City at Molineux on Saturday evening in the opening weekend of the 2025–26 Premier League season. Both teams come into this fixture with contrasting recent form and squad developments, and both have very different ambitions for the season ahead.

• Date: 16/08/2025
• Kick-off: 5:30pm
• Location: Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton

Wolves finished 16th last season with 42 points, which turned out to be a decent return after such a poor start to the campaign under Gary O'Neil - who was later replaced by Vitor Pereira. This summer, key departures such as Matheus Cunha and Rayan Ait-Nouri have weakened the squad, but fresh signings like Jhon Arias, Fer Lopez, and David Moller Wolfe reaffirm the club's ambition. Wolves will hope that they can retain the services of Jorgen Strand Larsen (who scored 14 league goals last season) for another year at least, with his name frequently mentioned as a target for bigger clubs.

Manchester City enter the match as strong favourites, aiming for a fifth Premier League title in six years. City have reinforced their squad with intent over the summer following a disappointing season last time out, with Rayan Cherki, Tijani Reijnders, James Trafford, and Rayan Ait-Nouri all joining the club. However, City's start to the season could be disrupted by injuries, with Rodri once again picking up an injury that will keep him out for a few weeks, while Phil Foden and Mateo Kovacic are all hurt.

This game will be televised live to all subscribed viewers on Sky Sports Main Event, with kick-off at 17:30.

Wolves:

Wolves' pre-season results have been poor, starting with a 2-1 loss to Santa Clara and followed by a 1-1 draw with Stoke City, a 1-3 defeat to Lens, 2-1 loss to Girona and a 0-1 loss to Celta Vigo.

Towards the end of last season, Wolves' form was mixed, with Vitor Pereira's men beating Leicester City 3-0 before losing to Man City (1-0), Brighton (0-2) and Crystal Palace (4-2), before then drawing 1-1 with Brentford on the final day of the season.

Manchester City:

Pep Guardiola's men beat Palermo 3-0 in a pre-season friendly last weekend, a result that followed their Club World Cup campaign, where they lost to Al-Hilal (4-3) after beating Juventus (5-2), Al Ain (6-0) and Wydad AC (2-0).

At the back end of last season, City recorded wins against Wolves (1-0), Bournemouth (3-1) and Fulham, amidst a 1-0 loss to Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final and a 0-0 draw with Southampton.

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