Despite some key absences Pep Guardiola’s side made an electric start at Molineux but could not sustain itFirst half scintillating; second half a touch concerning. This was Manchester City in a season-opening trip to Wolves that could be cast as the start of what might be the greatest test yet for Pep Guardiola: the uncharted territory of a fifth season in charge of a team who had question marks against them before kick-off wherever you looked.Sergio Agüero was out for two more months because of a knee injury. Aymeric Laporte was missing owing to recovery from Covid. Ilkay Gündogan had been placed in quarantine after testing positive for the virus. A 35-year-old Fernandinho was selected in defensive midfield, Nathan Aké...
Manchester City kick off against a side that beat them twice last season and a player who exploits their weaknesses ruthlesslyWhen Pep Guardiola was a little boy growing up in Santpedor, they warned darkly of such things. There would come, they said, an opponent too terrible to contemplate. It would be huge, yet quick. It would have prodigious strength, yet the most delicate feet. It would devastate its enemies with its power, yet practise also the most sublime skill. It would be a chimera, crafted both by La Masia and by Tony Pulis. Its mighty arms would drip with oil so no man could hold it. It would know Guardiola’s weakness and exploit it ruthlessly. On the nights when sleep...
Doherty’s sale raised concerns but transfers since point to strong ambitions and a push towards the top four could be realisticGuardian writers’ predicted position: 8th (NB: this is not necessarily Paul Doyle’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)Last season’s position: 7th Related: Too much perspective? Bring on the trivial luxury of the Premier League | Marina Hyde Wolves are one of only five clubs to have won the title in all four of England’s top divisions but if you can remember the last time they were the best team in the country, then perhaps you used to be a rag-and-bone man or a member of the Perry Como fan club. They tried to recapture their glory years in...
A chance for Bournemouth at Anfield, Burnley and Spurs battle for European slots and Fernandes can seize big derby stageGiven their 22-point lead at the top of the table, no one at Liverpool is likely to be concerned by three recent defeats in four games across three different competitions. Of course, while a win against Bournemouth would help steady the ship and halt the onset of anything approaching mild jitters, Eddie Howe’s men will head to Anfield to face hosts recently derobed of what had previously resembled a cloak of invincibility. With Fabinho in poor form and Jordan Henderson still sidelined with injury, Liverpool look uncharacteristically vulnerable in midfield and are crying out for on-field leadership. While it ought to...
Underrated Pearson has transformed Watford, Wolves’ unsung hero comes to fore and Messi and Griezmann just don’t clickThe sound of a top-flight stadium reverberating to “We’ve got super Nigel Pearson, he knows exactly what we need” (tune: Bad Moon Rising) can be filed among the things few envisaged in August. But Watford’s win against Liverpool was a measure of the uplift one of the season’s less likely appointments has contrived. “He is always about feet on the floor, he [has] never overreacted and you have to stay focused,” said Abdoulaye Doucouré. “He showed us videos and said we can do it. Nigel is a great, great manager, a great lad, and now he will keep everyone on the floor to...