Manchester United got off to a shocking start last season with a home defeat to Brighton, but they were strong at Old Trafford after that opening blow and will be confident that they can beat Wolves on Monday.
Their opponents have had a change in the manager’s office this week with Gary O’Neil taking over from Julen Lopetegui and Wolves will want to hit the ground running after a turbulent few days at Molineux.
- Manchester United to win to nil
- Under 2.5 goals
- Marcus Rashford to score at any time
United Defence Can Hold Firm
There were problems early on for Erik ten Hag after he took over the reins at Manchester United, but after they lost to the Seagulls on the opening weekend, they did not suffer a home league defeat in the remainder of the season.
Only Newcastle, Leeds and Southampton failed to avoid defeat from their trip to Old Trafford and there are reasons to believe United will continue in a similar vein when Wolves visit.
As United grew into the season and claimed a place in the Champions League while also winning the League Cup, their defence took a lot of credit as they conceded just six goals in the final 16 games they played on their own patch.
Wolves lost their away games against the top six by an aggregate of 20-1 while United conceded in just four of their 16 matches against outfits who finished in the bottom eight, so they should win this without conceding.
A Goalfest May Not Materialise
While United were strong at Old Trafford last year, sending most of the top teams packing as well as those from the lower depths of the table, there were not many matches when they ran away with things.
A 4-1 win over Chelsea in their penultimate match on their own patch was the only occasion when they scored more than three goals at Old Trafford and in only five of their home matches did they find the net more than twice.
Gary O’Neil has not had much time to organise his charges for their opening game, but their closing away matches were woeful with a 6-0 loss at Brighton and a 5-0 final-day thumping at Arsenal.
However, a 2-0 defeat at Old Trafford was sandwiched between those results and they may be able to keep this one respectable again, so under 2.5 goals could be a decent bet.
Rashford Can Lead United Charge
United have forked out a small fortune on Danish striker Rasmus Hojlund but if the former Atalanta man is initially kept under wraps, we can expect a familiar face to have a big impact in their first game of the campaign.
Marcus Rashford can often be seen playing on the left of a front three for the Red Devils but he could be pushed into a central role on Monday, which is bad news for Wolves, against whom the England man scored the winning goal in a 1-0 victory at Molineux on New Year’s Eve.
Rashford scored 13 of his 17 league goals at Old Trafford last term and it would not be a surprise if he were to quickly make his mark this term.
