United value in trip to Molineux
Wolverhampton Wanderers play host to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United on Sunday afternoon looking to score their first goal of the Premier League season. Despite notching 3.5 expected goals in 1-0 losses to Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur, Bruno Lage’s men are yet to trouble the scorers, even with Adama Traore looking unstoppable at times. If the Spain international can improve his finishing, Wolves have a real asset at their disposal and the 25-year-old could hit double figures easily this term. The Red Devils are odds on favourites after a below par display against Southampton last time out.
Background
Expectations of Manchester United have been elevated due to their opening weekend hammering of Leeds United. Bruno Fernandes has shown that he is capable of maintaining a very high performance over the course of a season, but the same cannot be said for Paul Pogba. United were catalysts of their own downfall at St Mary’s and if Adam Armstrong could have been more clinical in the dying embers, they would have gone home empty handed.
It was a small surprise to see Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw so heavily involved immediately at the start of the season having been so crucial for England at Euro 2020. It was Maguire’s mistake that led to Armstrong’s chance at the weekend, Wolves’ frontline come into this fresh from thrashing Nottingham Forest 4-0 in the League Cup, primed and ready to give the home faithful something to shout about.
Bruno Lage is keen to implement a more adventurous and attacking brand of football at Molineux, with last term a bit of a drag for Wolves fans under Nuno Espirito Santo. A more advanced role in the side for Traore seems to be one of the obvious tweaks the Portuguese had already made, they are in the hunt for some defensive reinforcements also.
When looking at an angle for this one, we have to remember the market is still adjusting to the ratings of these sides and I feel there is a fairly big price on United for this affair in line with that way of thinking. In May an incredibly youthful Red Devils lineup got the job done on the cusp of the Europa League final, winning 2-1 with goals from Anthony Elanga and Juan Mata.
With the gap widening between the top four and the rest of the division, United are still value in my book at 1.8.
Post bet chat Marcus's Tips:
Mason Greenwood's late strike earns us the win and a successful week to boot.