
Man City host Wolves on Friday night in the Premier League as Pep Guardiola's side look to continue their Champions League charge. Fresh off the back of beating Nottingham Forest at Wembley, City will fancy their chances of adding another three points to their name.
After such a poor start to the campaign, Man City are in an FA Cup final and are on course to qualify for next season's Champions League. Four wins and a draw in their last five has propelled them into 4th place - currently one point ahead of Chelsea and Nottingham Forest - albeit the latter have a game in hand on Thursday.
It has been a case of no Erling Haaland no problem in recent weeks - and although Guardiola will be desperate for his main man to be back on the pitch - his team have stepped up while the Norwegian recovers from his ankle injury. Can the hosts make it five wins on the spin? The odds suggest so, but the form book does not.
That's because Wolves are flying at present, having won their last six matches. Wins against Southampton and Ipswich were perhaps expected, but on the road, there's not many easy games at this level. But wins against Spurs and Man United - although maybe expected if looking at the table - were solid results.
And it's worth remembering Wolves only narrowly lost 2-1 in the 95th minute earlier in the campaign - when they were really struggling - and when Vitor Pereira wasn't in charge...
However, that victory was Man City's fourth from their last five meetings against Wolves - and with the Champions League at stake, there's little surprise to see that reflected within the odds. But at 1/3 with bet365, against the most in-form team in the league, it looks far too short to touch on its own.
And having won the last four meetings at the Etihad stretching back to 2021, Guardiola will have confidence in his side that has beaten some of the best teams in the league of late - including a 2-1 win against Aston Villa as well as a 5-2 romp against fellow FA Cup finalists Crystal Palace.
With the two most in-form sides set to compete against each other under the lights on Friday evening, it looks best to pad out Man City's short price with what has been a theme for both teams of late: goals.
As I've already pointed out, Man City are 1/3. It's a very short price, but one the bookmakers don't want to risk with so much on the line for them. But earlier in the season - before Wolves sprung into life - this would have looked like a gift.
Needless to say, Man City have missed Haaland up top, but Guardiola has found a way to play without him - which has caught many off guard.
The addition of Omar Marmoush has massively helped, and while Savinho has struggled for goals, he's been great at setting them up, contributing with eight in the Premier League.
But keeping Wolves quiet in their current mood will be challenging. They have scored 11 goals in their last five matches, including four against Spurs and more recently three vs Leicester at home.
Matheus Cunha may not be at Molineux next season, but he's been unplayable in an orange shirt this season - and 15 goals goals and six assists in 29 Premier League games has been insanely good.
With that in mind, you can back Man City to win and Matheus Cunha to have a shot on target at 5/4 with bet365. Good luck if you're following.
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