The Theatre of Dreams is the venue for Gary O’Neil’s Wolverhampton Wanderers baptism on Monday night, as Manchester United welcome their Midlands counterparts to their headquarters in gameweek one of the Premier League.
While the Red Devils are gearing up for a second season under the watchful eye of Erik ten Hag, their visitors are in disarray after the inevitable – albeit untimely – departure of Julen Lopetegui.
Qualifying for the Champions League with a podium finish and adding another EFL Cup to the trophy case represented a successful first season at the Man United helm for Ten Hag, who was also forced to navigate his players through months of ownership uncertainty during his debut campaign in England.
Thanks to an impeccable defensive record at their Old Trafford base – conceding a league-low 10 goals in front of their own fans all season long – Man United finished in the bronze medal position behind Arsenal and Manchester City, while also inflicting EFL Cup final misery on Newcastle United to end a six-year silverware drought.
To say that Man United endured a tumultuous pre-season period would be an understatement, as after opening with three successive wins over Leeds United, Lyon and Arsenal, the Red Devils were put to the sword by Wrexham, Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, although a fledgling XI was fielded against the former.
A 3-1 success over Ligue 1 surprise package Lens followed before Ten Hag’s side capped off their preparations with a 1-1 draw versus Athletic Bilbao, and a seventh successive Premier League home win is now expected to be on the menu for Man United on Monday night.
The Red Devils were only bested on one occasion at Old Trafford in the 2022-23 Premier League, although that did come on the opening weekend against Brighton & Hove Albion, potentially invoking fear in the more superstitious supporters who are also wary of the famed new manager bounce.
Despite labelling Wolves’ survival last term as his most “difficult achievement” in his managerial career to date, gripes with the Molineux powers-that-be proved too difficult for former Spain, Sevilla and Real Madrid head coach Julen Lopetegui to overcome.
Amid rumours of bitter feuds with Fosun over how much money Wolves would have to spend in the summer market, Lopetegui cleared out his office only a few days before the start of the Premier League season, leaving the hotseat vacant for ex-Bournemouth head coach Gary O’Neil to take over.
The 40-year-old defied the odds to keep the Cherries afloat in the top flight after their nightmarish start under Scott Parker, but the Bournemouth board saw fit to sack him in spite of his praiseworthy achievements, and O’Neil has hardly been given ample time to become accustomed to his new crop of players.
However, there is familiarity within the visitors’ ranks given that only two new first-team recruits have arrived this summer – one of whom is Matt Doherty, back for a second spell in Wolves colours – and they went through a quintet of friendly games unbeaten, seeing off Porto and Rennes before the managerial shake-up.
Wolves failed to win any of their final eight Premier League road games in the 2022-23 season, though – a sequence which includes a 2-0 loss to Man United on May 13 – and with only 12 goals on rival turf to show for their efforts last term, hopes of an opening-day giant killing are thin to say the least.
With Harry Kane joined German football supremacy with Bayern Munich over his pursuit of the all-time Premier League goalscoring record, Man United have taken a punt on Danish protege Rasmus Hojlund, but the former Atalanta BC striker will be forced to wait a little while for his debut due to a back injury.
Hojlund is joined in a packed infirmary by Kobbie Mainoo (ankle), Dean Henderson (thigh), Anthony Martial (thigh), Tyrell Malacia (muscle), Thomas Heaton (calf) and Amad Diallo (knee), so the rejuvenated Marcus Rashford should operate at the tip of the hosts’ attack.
Rashford’s 20 home goals across all tournaments in the 2022-23 campaign was second only to the record-breaking Erling Braut Haaland (35) out of all Premier League players, but while Hojlund will watch on from the sidelines, competitive debuts should come the way of Andre Onana and Mason Mount.
In contrast, Wolves enter the opening game week of the season with a near clean bill of health, although Matheus Cunha is still a slight doubt due to a minor injury, which saw him miss a couple of days’ worth of training last week.
However, O’Neil is optimistic that the Brazilian attacker will be fine to line up at Old Trafford, and he will undoubtedly spearhead the charge if fit enough following the departures of misfiring duo Diego Costa and Raul Jimenez.
Sasa Kalajdzic and Fabio Silva are also bidding to play their way into O’Neil’s good books early doors, although the exits of Nathan Collins, Ruben Neves, Adama Traore, Joao Moutinho and Conor Coady have also left a few gaping holes in the Wolves squad.
Manchester United possible starting lineup:
Onana; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Martinez, Shaw; Casemiro, Eriksen; Antony, Fernandes, Mount; Rashford
Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Sa; Semedo, Kilman, Dawson, Ait-Nouri; Nunes, Lemina, Gomes; Sarabia, Cunha, Podence
We say: Manchester United 2-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Only West Ham United notched fewer goals on the road than Wolves did last term, and an opening-day meeting with the division’s stingiest defensive side at home should follow the script to a tee.
It may be as you were for Man United in the striker department while Hojlund continues on the road to recovery, but an opening-day maximum should still come the Red Devils’ way tonight.
