Wolverhampton Wanderers host Manchester City in the Premier League this Saturday, so where are the last Wolves XI to beat the Citizens: including Adama Traore and Diogo Jota?
Pep Guardiola’s defending champions travel to Molineux at the weekend looking to extend a four-match winning run over the West Midlands side. Manchester City have not dropped a single point against Wolves since a 3-2 defeat in December 2019, whilst also on the road.
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Wolves’ last win capped a two-game winning streak over Manchester City in the top-flight, while ending a nine-year drought. They had not beaten the Etihad Stadium natives in their past five Premier League encounters dating back to October 2010, along with two cup ties.
An early red card for Ederson aided Wolves’ cause in their last win over Manchester City in December 2019. Referee Martin Atkinson gave the Brazilian his marching orders after only 12 minutes after fouling Jota. Yet Raheem Sterling did not let the disadvantage take effect.
Sterling put Guardiola’s team two goals to the good in the opening 50 minutes, including a goal 13 minutes after Ederson’s red. His first also came after two VAR interventions, firstly to give Manchester City a penalty and then to order a retake before Sterling tapped home.
Wolves’ supporters urged their team on in the hope of a second-half response that Traore would provide. The Spaniard drove the ball into the bottom corner of Claudio Bravo’s net, before assisting Raul Jimenez. Then cometh Matt Doherty, as the wing-back hit the winner.
Doherty drilled the ball home from the edge of the area with just a minute left on the clock at Molineux. But the Republic of Ireland international is now one of six players who started Wolves’ last win over Manchester City no longer at the club ahead of Saturday’s meeting…
Rui Patricio (GK): Starter of last Wolves win over Man City now at Roma
Rui Patricio had a busy afternoon the last time Wolves beat Manchester City, including the two early penalty attempts. The Portuguese saved both spot-kicks, but could not keep out Sterling’s rebound as the now-£47.5m Chelsea forward tapped the ball into an empty net.
Wolves had bought Patricio from Sporting Lisbon a year prior to what remains their most recent win over Guardiola’s squad. The 34-year-old goalkeeper would stay at Molineux up to last summer when Roma swooped to sign the shot-stopper for £10m after 127 games.
Matt Doherty (RWB): Wolves’ last match-winner vs Man City now at Tottenham
Doherty would be Wolves’ hero with the winning goal in their last win against Manchester City. But he is one of the many players to have since left Molineux after joining Tottenham Hotspur for £15m in August 2020. The 30-year-old left Wolves with 302 games in 10 years.
Conor Coady (CB): Captain of last Wolves win over Man City now at Everton
Conor Coady captained Wolves to their last win over Manchester City, but will not be able to help break their duck this weekend. Bruno Lage agreed to send the centre-back on loan to Everton for a term in August. The 29-year-old had joined Wolves in 2015 for 317 games.
Frank Lampard has so far reaped the rewards of having the 10-cap England international at his disposal at Goodison Park. Coady has added a true leader to the Toffees defence, while the defender – with a £12m buy option for 2023 – continually delivers consistent displays.
Romain Saiss (CB): Wolves released now-Besiktas defender this June
Super Lig side Besiktas signed Romain Saiss as a free agent this July after Wolves opted to release the Morocco defender. Lage chose against offering the 32-year-old new terms with the West Midlands outfit, despite him earning 32 of his 206 outings for Wolves last season.
Leander Dendoncker (CB): Belgian sealed last-ditch transfer to Aston Villa
Leander Dendoncker was a solid squad player for Wolves, with the Belgian giving a body in central defence and midfield. Yet a club-record £42m move for Sporting Lisbon’s Matheus Nunes made the 27-year-old surplus to requirements and was sold to Aston Villa for £13m.
Jonny Otto (LWB): Nuno Espirito Santo’s 2018 signing still key at Molineux
Nuno Espirito Santo initially hired Jonny Otto on loan from Atletico Madrid in 2018, before then purchasing the three-cap Spain defender for £15m. The 28-year-old has since gone on to make 115 appearances across all competitions, including seven outings so far this term.
Ruben Neves (CM): Portugal midfielder now Wolves captain after Coady exit
Ruben Neves has taken over the captaincy at Wolves following Coady’s loan-to-buy switch to Everton this summer. The midfielder has been at Molineux since moving from FC Porto for £16m in 2017, and he has since gone on to play 219 games for 25 goals and 12 assists.
Joao Moutinho (CM): Portuguese integral once again after early-term injury
Joao Moutinho is back to holding an integral role in the Wolves engine room after missing the start of the season with an ankle injury. The 36-year-old has been a vital cog at Wolves since he joined from AS Monaco in 2018 for £5m, earning 181 appearances with 23 assists.
Adama Traore (RW): Goal and assist as Wolves last beat Man City in 2019
Traore gave Wolves hope of a comeback with the first goal in the Molineux outfit’s last win over Manchester City. He drove his shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the area, before soon delivering a low cross into Jimenez – with the Mexican firing from close range.
Nuno signed Traore from Middlesbrough in 2018 for £18m after triggering a release clause in his contract at the Riverside. But the 26-year-old – who spent the latter half of last term on loan to Barcelona – now only has nine months left on the five-year deal he signed up to.
Diogo Jota (LW): Winger is an FA Cup and EFL Cup winner since leaving Wolves
Diogo Jota joined Wolves from Atletico Madrid in 2017 initially on loan, before completing a permanent €14m (£12m) move. His arrival at Molineux offered 44 goals and 19 assists in 131 outings, before joining Liverpool for £41m in 2020 after they won the Premier League.
The 25-year-old helped Wolves win the Championship title during his first season with the club. Jota has since added an EFL Cup and FA Cup winners’ medal to his trophy cabinet, as the Reds – for whom he has 34 goals in 88 games – did a domestic cup double in 2022.
Raul Jimenez (ST): Scored the equaliser in last Wolves win over Man City
Jimenez converted Traore’s cross from close range to pull Wolves level, before he assisted Doherty to secure the Molineux outfit’s last win over Manchester City. The 31-year-old has been at the club since an initial loan from Benfica in 2018 they made permanent for £30m.
His transfer was a club-record spend for the West Midlands club at the time, but has been a solid investment. Jimenez – who extended his contract until 2024 in 2020 – has hit 55 goals and 23 assists in 150 games, including a high of 17 in 38 Premier League games in 2019/20.
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