Will City’s goal drought continue against the bottom team?
The mood among the Cityzens is not good these days: after last weekend’s derby defeat against United, another setback followed this week in the Champions League against Bodö/Glimt.
Things have not been going well for the home side in the national league for some time now. Coach Pep Guardiola’s team has been waiting for its next three points for four games. The dry spell is mainly due to a decline in offensive performance. In this review, the league’s best attacking unit on paper, with 45 goals, has scored a meager two goals!
The visitors, for their part, are again bottom of the table, but their form is on a steep upward curve. The Wanderers are unbeaten in four league games and their haul of six points in these encounters has been accompanied by a stabilized defense.
This is easy to see from the fact that they have conceded only two goals. Given this situation, a prediction of a maximum of two goals from the hosts seems promising for the match between Manchester City and Wolverhampton.
However, Antoine Semenyo is an exception to the criticism of the hosts’ offense. The striker arrived at the beginning of the month from league rivals Bournemouth, where he scored ten goals in 20 league games this season. This means he has delivered his second consecutive PL season with double-digit goals, and he is continuing to score seamlessly at City.
In his only home game for the hosts so far, against Exeter City in the FA Cup, he immediately scored again and set up a goal for his new teammates! We therefore believe the signs are good for his first home league goal at the Etihad. This assumption is supported by his general preference for home goals: 14 goals in his last 16 PL home league games quickly demonstrate this!
Manchester City – Wolverhampton Head-to-head record
Manchester has won ten of its last eleven Premier League games against the Wolves, with the exception of a 2-1 defeat at Molineux in September 2023. The Wolves have also won only one of their eleven Premier League away games against City (1-1-9) and have lost the last five in a row.
The hosts are also unbeaten in their last 30 PL games against teams that were bottom of the table on matchday (24-6-0). City are particularly efficient at home against bottom teams: the last nine games of this type ended in a win for the hosts, with an impressive goal difference of 36-0!
Manchester City – Wolverhampton Tip
You have to go back to 2009 to find the last time Manchester went four league games without a win! In contrast, the visitors have managed one win and three draws during this period.
With this record, they have earned twice as many points (6) in the last four matchdays as in the previous 22 PL games this season (3)! Just as City’s downturn has been accompanied by a decline in offense, the Wolves’ upswing can be explained by a significantly improved defense.
Coach Rob Edwards’ team has not conceded a goal in two of its last three league games, after failing to keep a clean sheet in each of its previous 23 PL games. Considering these two developments, the betting odds for no more than two goals by Guardiola’s team are worth considering in the match between Manchester City and Wolverhampton!
This is also supported by the fact that the hosts will be more tired than their opponents due to their additional Champions League match this week, and next week they have another Champions League game at home against Galatasaray. After two defeats in their last three CL games, City also have a lot at stake, as direct qualification for the round of 16 is now in jeopardy again.
