Manchester City vs Wolverhampton Wanderers

Manchester City’s Premier League title defense is on the line as they meet mid-table Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Etihad Stadium.

Not even the most optimistic punters would bet against Manchester City to drop points down the final stretch as they endeavor to claim an unprecedented fourth successive Premier League title off the back of a five-game winning league streak. Despite trailing table-topping Arsenal by a point, Pep Guardiola’s men have a game in hand and could set a new club record for the longest unbeaten home run in all competitions if they hold up their end of the bargain against Wolves (W35, D7). A 43rd straight undefeated home outing is a distinct possibility for the Citizens against a Wolves side they had defeated in six consecutive top-flight H2Hs before slipping to a 2-1 loss in September’s reverse fixture. Indeed, they’ve won their last three H2Hs at home, including two via a three-goal margin.

On the other hand, Wolverhampton’s pursuit of a European finish is dead in the water, even though they halted a six-game winless Premier League run (D2, L4) with a 2-1 home win against Luton Town last weekend. Next on Gary O’Neil’s agenda is to tackle Wolves’ problems on the road that have seen them lose two of their four most recent away league games (D2). Conceding multiple goals on three occasions during that sequence doesn’t bode well, especially considering they’ve failed to get on the scoresheet in their last two away meetings with Man City (L2). Worryingly for the Wanderers, they’ve drawn a blank in four of their six league encounters against the current top-eight sides on hostile turf this term (W1, L5).