Evening Standard
·23 December 2024
Evening Standard
·23 December 2024
Man United in bottom half on Christmas Day for first time since 1989/90 season
Manchester United are in desperate need of a win to lift the mood as they travel to take on Wolves on Boxing Day.
Ruben Amorim’s side were thrashed by Bournemouth on Sunday and have now already lost four matches under their new manager.
United are spending Christmas Day in the bottom half of the table for the first time in Premier League history, sitting 13th and already 17 points off the pace set by Liverpool, having played a game more.
Vitor Pereira made the perfect start to life as Wolves boss as he watched his side beat Leicester 3-0 over the weekend, for just their third Premier League win of the season. Wolves still sit in the relegation zone, but that has taken them to within a couple of points of safety.
Wolves vs Man United is scheduled for a 5:30pm BST kick-off on Thursday, December 26, 2024.
The match will take place at Molineux.
TV channel: The game will be broadcast on Amazon Prime Video.
Live stream: Subscribers will be able to watch on a live stream via the Amazon Prime website or app.
Live blog: You can follow all the action on matchday via Standard Sport’s live blog.
Pereira made four changes in his first match in charge at Wolves and they paid off, with Goncalo Guedes and Rodrigo Gomes, two of those to come in, scoring in the first-half. The pair will hope to keep their places in the starting lineup.
Mario Lemina was ruled out of that win with a minor calf issue, but is likely to be in contention to face United.
Ruben Amorim is expected to leave Marcus Rashford out of the squad for the fourth match in a row, with the forward recently admitting his time at the club could be coming to an end.
Matthijs de Ligt could return after missing the Bournemouth match due to illness, but the likes of Luke Shaw, Mason Mount and Victor Lindelof remain unavailable as their injury-hit seasons continue.
Marcus Rashford is unlikely to return to the squad
Getty Images
It is difficult to be confident of United beating anyone at the moment, with that dramatic derby win over Manchester City a rare bright moment.
Amorim’s side look incredibly vulnerable at the back against almost every team they play, and a Wolves side with renewed confidence after the change of manager could cause them problems.
Draw, 1-1.
Wolves wins: 37
Draws: 20
Man United wins: 56
Wolves to win: 12/5
Draw: 15/8
Man United to win: 5/6
Odds via Betfair (subject to change).