Manchester City vs Wolverhampton Predictions

• Wolves have scored in their last 13 matches in all competitions.
• Manchester City have scored exactly twice in six of their last eight games, winning 2-1 three times.
• Manchester City’s left-backs have scored 12 times in the last year.

Citizens target top-five berth

Manchester City occupy a top-five position in the Premier League table, but they remain locked in a battle with Newcastle, Chelsea, and Nottingham Forest, and the motivation for Champions League qualification should give them the edge when they host Wolves on Friday.

The Citizens booked their place in the FA Cup final last weekend and, while their pursuit of the only remaining silverware available to them is important, dropping down into the Europa League would be unthinkable for Pep Guardiola’s side, making the closing stages of the league campaign a high priority for last season’s champions.

Friday’s favourites have found some good form of late, too, winning six and drawing one of their last seven competitive games, despite the continued absence of Erling Haaland.

Free-scoring Wolves can make an impact

Wolves are unlikely to be pushed over, though. Their win over Leicester last time out made it six wins on the trot for Vitor Pereira’s side, although it is worth noting that all of these victories came against sides below them in the standings.

The underdogs have nothing substantial to play for in the remaining eight games of the season, either, making motivation a potential issue if they fall behind.

That being said, Wolves have scored in 13 successive matches in all competitions and look good value to find the net, so I’m backing both teams to score on Friday.

O’Reilly emerges as goalscoring option

Manchester City have scored exactly three goals in six of their last eight matches and have won by a 2-1 scoreline three times in that period. Wolves’ last two defeats have been 2-1 affairs, too, making that a solid correct score prediction.

Anytime goalscorer punters may find some value in Manchester City defender Nico O’Reilly, who has scored in two of his last four outings. He has had six shots on goal in this run, and the left-back position has proved a dangerous one in this Manchester City system, with Josko Gvardiol scoring eight goals from left-back in the past year, too.