Manchester United travel away to play Wolves
Wolverhampton Wanderers can leapfrog Manchester United in the Premier League table if they claim maximum points in Thursday’s contest at Molineux.
The hosts will be seeking revenge against the Red Devils after they suffered a controversial 1-0 defeat in the reverse fixture at Old Trafford back in August last year.
Wolves extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to seven matches when they secured a 2-0 victory over rivals West Bromwich Albion in the FA Cup fourth round on Sunday.
Wolves, who have picked up the second-most points (14) in the Premier League since December 5, will welcome a return to Molineux where they have not lost any of their last eight Premier League home games, beating Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea during this period.
However, the West Midlands outfit have suffered defeat in six of their last seven top-flight encounters with Thursday’s opponents Man United, losing each of their last three without reply.
Manchester United have now won two of their last three games, both in the FA Cup against teams at least two divisions below them, the jury is still out on Erik ten Hag as his side’s inconsistent form has frustrated much of the club’s fanbase; the Red Devils have won just four, drawn three and lost five of their last 12 matches in all tournaments since the end of the November.
Amidst dealing with Marcus Rashford‘s off-field “disciplinary matter”, Ten Hag is tasked with finding the right formula to get the best out of his squad and build a much-needed run of positive results as they attempt to climb from eighth place in the Premier League table towards the European spot.
First-choice shot-stopper Andre Onana is available after returning from a disappointing AFCON campaign with Cameroon.
Wolves have turned up for the big occasions this term and boast an impressive home record, but Man United have a knack of grinding out positive results against the West Midlands club and may do enough to claim a share of the spoils.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
West Ham clash with Bournemouth at the London Stadium
West Ham United and Bournemouth return to action in the Premier League when they lock horns at the London Stadium on Thursday.
The Cherries turned in a five-star performance in their FA Cup clash against Swansea City last time out and will be looking to keep the juggernaut rolling.
West Ham United were denied their first win of the year last time out when they were held to a 2-2 draw by Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.
Prior to that, David Moyes’ side fell to a shock 1-0 loss against Bristol City in the FA Cup on January 16 which saw their four-game unbeaten run come to an end.
With 35 points from 21 matches, West Ham United are currently sixth in the Premier League table, five points behind fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Europa Conference League qualification spot.
Elsewhere, Bournemouth picked up their biggest win of the season last Thursday when they thrashed Swansea City 5-0 in their FA Cup fourth-round clash at the Vitality Stadium.
Andoni Iraola’s side now turn their sights to the Premier League, where they are on a two-game losing run, having picked up six wins and one draw in the seven games preceding this run.
Having turned their fortunes around in November, Bournemouth are now on course for a top-half finish. Buoyed by their cup victory, Bournemouth will head into Thursday’s clash with sky-high confidence. Bournemouth are on a solid run of form in the league and we fancy them troubling the hosts who have struggled to get going since the turn of the year.
Real Madrid make the short trip to face Getafe
Real Madrid will have the chance to move top of La Liga when they make the short trip to the Coliseum for Thursday’s La Liga clash with Getafe.
While Los Blancos currently sit in second place and one point adrift of Girona, the Azulones will head into the contest in 10th position. Getafe returned to winning ways in Monday’s clash with Granada after losing to Sevilla and Osasuna in the Copa del Rey and league respectively.
Having lost each of their last four meetings with Real Madrid, Getafe are hoping to claim their first head-to-head victory since winning 2-1 in January 2022.
After coming from two goals down to beat Almeria 3-2, Real Madrid were forced to produce another fightback in Saturday’s away clash with Las Palmas.
As a result of their successful trip to Gran Canaria, Real Madrid have now won five consecutive matches in La Liga, while they are also unbeaten in 15 league games since suffering their only defeat of the season in September’s meeting with Atletico Madrid.
Los Blancos have since faced Atletico on two occasions, and they are set to meet their local rivals for the third time in the space of a month in Sunday’s La Liga fixture, but first, they must negotiate a tricky away game against Getafe.
The visitors will know that a win is far from a foregone conclusion, having dropped points in three of their last five away meetings with Getafe, but they can take confidence from the fact they recorded a narrow 1-0 victory on their most recent visit to the Coliseum in October 2022.
Having lost just once at home in the league this season, Getafe will fancy their chances of causing Real Madrid a problem or two.
While we think Getafe may run Real Madrid close, we think the visitors will have enough quality to claim maximum points in Thursday’s encounter.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
