Man City v Wolves preview: Competitive Wolves need to be perfect against City

Rob Edwards has been able to find a system, personnel and style that is suiting his team and they are now five matches unbeaten in all competitions and one of few teams not to lose in 2026.

Relegation is highly likely, of course, but the head coach has got his team playing, fighting, competing and with that they have restored some pride in Wolves again.

Manchester City are tough opponents for any side, particular the team bottom of the Premier League, and they could be an even more dangerous opponent when they are wounded.

Losing back-to-back matches to Manchester United and Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League - and being beaten fairly comfortably in both - is unusual territory for Pep Guardiola.

They will be desperate to return to winning ways at the Etihad on Saturday, as Wolves hope to continue their upwards trajectory.

Wolves' unbeaten run started with a point at Manchester United and came following slim defeats, but overall good performances, on their travels at Villa, Arsenal and Liverpool.

Edwards had found a way to get a tune out of his side away from home and he will need to do that again to have any chance of getting a result at City.

The hosts have incredible attacking qualities but they do leave gaps in midfield and can be vulnerable in defence, meaning Wolves must be perfect on the counter-attack to cause them problems.

New centre-back signing Marc Guehi will make City better, but Wolves will have opportunities on the transition if they are crisp and accurate in their passing.

It is likely we will see the same 5-3-2 system, with two number eight midfielders and Mateus Mane as one of them. Their work in springing the counters and making them count will be crucial to Wolves' game plan.

They will also need to be near-perfect defensively to get a result, which is easier said than done against the likes of Erling Haaland.

Santi Bueno has made improvements at centre-back and now deals with the physical battles better, but he will have his hands full against the Norwegian powerhouse.

Alongside likely partners in Yerson Mosquera and Ladislav Krejci - and the two wing-backs - Wolves will need to be compact and deny City space to do damage.

Although Edwards' starting XI may be fairly easy to predict, providing there are no unfortunate injuries, he still has decisions to make on his team selection.

Jhon Arias was superb as one of the midfield number eights at Old Trafford and kept his place in the Premier League side until Sunday's draw with Newcastle, when conventional midfielders Joao Gomes and Andre were chosen instead.

The Colombian is an option for the head coach and cannot be overlooked, while he must choose whether to persevere with Tolu Arokodare to bring Jorgen Strand Larsen back in.

Rodrigo Gomes has an outside shout of his first start since returning from injury, but Jackson Tchatchoua may keep his place after a better display against the Magpies last time out.