Match Preview: Wolves vs Manchester United

After a whirlwind 24 hours that eventually saw the greatest footballer of all time, Cristiano Ronaldo, make a sensational return to Manchester United, you would be forgiven for forgetting that there is a match on this weekend.

United face Wolverhampton Wanderers away from home in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon, following their disappointing 1-1 draw with Southampton last weekend.

The arrival of Ronaldo will undoubtedly lift the dressing room and should play a role in the Wolves game, even if he has not actually been there yet.

How do Manchester United look?

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Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to make his return to United against Newcastle on September 11^th, following the international break, so will play no part on Sunday.

Raphael Varane, on the other hand, could be in line to make his first appearance for the club at Molyneux, and Jadon Sancho is also expected to make his first start for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.

Speaking ahead of the match, the boss said that Varane “has had a good couple of weeks training and is as impressive as ever”, suggesting that he is ready to play for United.

Scott McTominay underwent surgery in the week on a persistent muscle injury, and will miss the clash with Wolves, and is expected to be out for around a month.

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Marcus Rashford, Dean Henderson, and Alex Telles are all also out with a number of long-term issues that they have been dealing with.

Mason Greenwood has scored in each of United’s opening two Premier League games, so will be hopeful of starting again this week, although Edinson Cavani and Anthony Martial will both be competing for the starting centre forward position.

Opposition: Wolves

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Given that they have lost both of their opening games of the season 1-0 (against Tottenham and Leicester City), there has been room for optimism for Wolves under new manager Bruno Lage.

They were unlucky to not get anything in their first two matches and will be desperate to turn good performances into results, starting against United this weekend.

Their key striker Raul Jimenez is back, following the nasty skull fracture injury he picked up last season, and it is good to see him fully recovered.

Adama Traore will pose a threat, as always, with his pace down the wings, so must be managed carefully by either Luke Shaw or Aaron Wan Bissaka.

Pedro Neto is a confirmed absentee for Wolves.