Key events
The players are out there and the atmosphere is rocking, with about 28,000 voices joining the late great Jeff Beck on the chorus of Hi Ho Silver Lining.
“Neto,” says the subject line of tonight’s first email. “Blooming heck, Tim,” Duncan Edwards continues. “Surely United will beat that Wolves team, they’ve only got one danger man whereas we’ve got, well I’m not sure now many we’ve got but it must be more than one.” Opta’s algorithm is on your side, Duncan, giving United a 39pc chance of a win to Wolves’ 30. My thinking was that Wolves are in great form at Molineux, where they don’t concede many goals – only seven in the last eight home league games. Yes, United have danger men, but they’ve been less than the sum of their parts for most of the time since they last met Wolves, back in August.
Hmmm.
Choice of music here at Molineux poking fun at Rashford – a cover version of Tequila of Terrorvision followed by Tequila by The Champs #mufc
— Chris Wheeler (@ChrisWheelerDM) February 1, 2024
Erik ten Hag is talking to TNT. But not very effusively on the subject of Rashford, which inevitably comes up first. “He’s taken responsibility,” he says, “So case closed, we move on.” Does Rashford feel he has something to prove? “Like I said, case closed, we move on.”
Asked if this is the closest he has come this season to fielding his strongest team, he says “Yeah, I think so, could be. We know some [of them] have to catch up with game rhythm, but we have some good players back – Casemiro, Luke Shaw, Martinez.” He calls Wolves “a tough opponent… but we beat them at the beginning of the season, so we have confidence.”
Wolves are unchanged after seeing off their neighbours West Brom in the FA Cup. And their bench has a healthier look to it, with Joao Gomes back from his suspension and Pablo Sarabia fit enough to play some part in the game.
United’s bench is a jigsaw with a couple of glaring holes: there’s no full-back or centre-forward. At the back, Willy Kambwala may be asked to fill in on the flanks. At the front, Erik ten Hag seems not to be a fan of Charlie McNeill, the only fit striker apart from Rasmus Hojlund. Which makes it more likely that Rashford will play the full 90, as he’s the one man who could go in the middle if Hojlund is toiling.
Teams in full
Wolves (probably 3-4-2-1) Sa; Kilman, Dawson, Toti; Semedo, M Lemina, Doyle, Doherty; Neto, Cunha; Bellegarde.
Subs: Bentley, H Bueno, S Bueno, Ait-Nouri, Gomes, Hodge, Chirewa, Sarabia, Fraser.
Man United (probably 4-1-2-3) Onana; Dalot, Varane, Martinez, Shaw; Casemiro; Mainoo, Fernandes; Garnacho, Hojlund, Rashford.
Subs: Bayindir, Kambwala, Maguire, Evans, Eriksen, McTominay, Amad, Antony, Forson.
Referee Jarred Gillett.
Team newsflash: Rashford starts!
Marcus Rashford returns to the United XI at the expense of Antony. The only other change from the side that pulled off a wobbly win at Newport is André Onana, back in goal in place of his understudy, Altay Bayindir.
Preamble
Hello, good evening and welcome to a mid-table tussle tonight’s big game in the Premier League. With apologies to West Ham and Bournemouth, any game involving Man United is still a story, and all the more so when one of their stars has turned into the prodigal son.
Wolves needn’t worry too much: they’re sitting comfortably after taking 14 points from their last seven league games. United may have forgotten what comfort even feels like. They’ve lost so often this season – 14 times in all comps – that every match is now an embarrassment waiting to happen.
On form, this looks very much like a home win. Wolves have won five of their last eight league games at Molineux and drawn the other three. During that run they’ve had three visitors from the so-called Big Six – Man City, Spurs and Chelsea – and sent them all away with nul points.
United’s away form, meanwhile, has gone from not bad to worse, with three defeats in the last four in the league. The other game was the only pleasant surprise they’ve given their travelling fans all season, when they somehow scraped a point at Anfield.
If Gary O’Neil’s intelligent tactics do bag a win tonight, Wolves will burst into the top half of the table – and they’ll go above United, whose goal difference always seems to be on their rivals’ side. If Luke Shaw and Erik ten Hag’s other returnees can deliver a win, United will jump from ninth to seventh, nipping past Newcastle and Brighton. They can achieve the same effect with a draw, but it won’t lift them out of the doldrums.
Will Marcus Rashford play? And if he does, will he maintain his little-noticed return to form, or go back to looking lost? Last time he was disciplined by Ten Hag, 13 months ago, United’s next game was at … Molineux. Demoted to the bench, Rashford came on at half-time and scored the only goal of the game. His team-mates – and his 17m followers on Instagram – may feel he owes them a repeat.
The kick-off is at 8.15pm, for reasons best known to TNT Sports. I’ll be back soon with the teams.