Early team news for Manchester United’s New Year’s Eve trip to the Molineux.
The Reds are on the back of a 3-0 home win against Nottingham Forest – their last outing at Old Trafford of 2022. It was also United’s return to Premier League action following the World Cup.
All eyes on our last #PL assignment of 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣2️⃣ 👊#MUFC pic.twitter.com/qT67gLKkmt
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 29, 2022
They will take on 18th-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers, who saw out a 2-1 win in their first league match under new manager Julen Lopetegui.
The Red Devils sit in fifth place and are one point behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur with a game in hand.
United team news
A significant boost to the lineup on Tuesday was the inclusion of Raphael Varane. The Frenchman was the first player to return to their squad after featuring in the World Cup final. He was deployed alongside left-back Luke Shaw, who stepped in to replace Harry Maguire at centre-back due to the club captain suffering from an illness.
Erik ten Hag will have the option of utilising world champion Lisandro Martinez after the Argentinian returned to training yesterday. He had spent some time celebrating his national team’s triumphant World Cup final win but now looks fully focused on the forthcoming fixtures with the club.
Wolves team news
Former Chelsea forward Diego Costa is likely to start the match. Lopetegui faces injury blows in the form of Chiquinho, Pedro Neto and Sasa Kalajdzic – all players are sidelined with long-term issues.
Boubacar Traore, Jonny and Daniel Podence are all currently doubts but may recover in time to face United.
